


Mythic Descent

by Dragoness Eclectic (DragonessEclectic)



Series: Raditz's Return AU [6]
Category: Ancient Egyptian Religion, Dragon Ball, Norse Religion & Lore, Ramayana - Valmiki, Runequest
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Personal Favorite, Threats of Rape/Non-Con
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-07
Updated: 2014-03-07
Packaged: 2018-01-14 22:20:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 36
Words: 150,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1280908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonessEclectic/pseuds/Dragoness%20Eclectic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vegeta is dead again and very unhappy about it and all the mythical hells are about to find out what that means, for Vegeta will find his way through every one of them, seeking the path back to life, and the secrets of his killer. Sequel to Raditz's Return.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Hell

**Author's Note:**

> _For those of you who have read "Raditz's Return", the prologue will look very familiar--if from a different point-of-view. For those of you who haven't read "Raditz's Return", this story is a direct sequel; if you haven't read "Raditz's Return", go read it now! This story will make a lot more sense if you do._

## PROLOGUE: HELL

The man who lept from ledge to ledge down the seared, black cliffs to the burning plain might have been mistaken for human, except for the too-large eyes of a nocturnal predator, and the stiff, upswept crest of hair that no human ever grew. The man was small, but powerfully built, and he searched for another of his race. 

Yes, there he was! On the burning plain, hunting some minor demon, just as Bardock had said. The man approached him, silently; he watched the tall, long-maned warrior finish the hunt, slicing the demon apart with his blade. 

The man frowned; a Saiyan warrior using a sword? "Feh. A sword, Raditz? I didn't think you'd fallen that far!" 

Raditz answered without turning to look at the smaller man. "The mara is an energy vampire, Vegeta. It feeds on soul force. My blade is as steel; it has neither passion nor energy; it's just sharp." His voice turned faintly mocking. "I'd be happy to let you fight it, but then I'd have to clean up the mess." He finally turned, carefully keeping the writhing demon's head pinned with the blade, to look at his former partner and prince. 

"Hmmph! So don't blast it, just hit it." Prince Vegeta aimed a vicious kick at the demon's head; the tall warrior blocked it. Anger flashed in Vegeta's eyes; he wasn't in the mood for insolence. "You dare?" 

Raditz grinned unpleasantly. "The mara drains soul force by touch--yours or its. You really don't want to finish that kick!" He paused to let that sink in. "He's weak now--I haven't let him feed for days--but you should see him all charged up. Heh. The maras hang around the borderland, looking for mortals whose spirits are wandering in dreams--then they harry them all night, sucking ki out of their souls and giving them nightmares in return. Good for me Earth mortals are so weak; maras can't do much more than look really ugly from what they steal. Too bad for Earth mortals they are so weak--they die or go mad from the life theft if it keeps up." 

Vegeta had little interest in the travails of Earth's weakling mortals, but the demon's powers intrigued him. Vegeta laughed; a cold, malicious sound. "So blasting the little bastard would make him stronger, would it? And he'd steal my strength if I fought him hand-to-hand? That would be a tricky fight.. an interesting fight! Are there other demons like him?" 

"There are. Why do you think the Saiyajin Demon Guard--my outfit--all carry swords?" Raditz took out a small black stone, and stopped, looking quizzically at Vegeta. "When did you get here? Did you die recently, Vegeta, or am I clueless as usual?" 

Privately, Vegeta thought Raditz was clueless as usual, but.. "Not much more than a week ago." 

The short, dark-haired saiyan frowned, and spent some time straightening out his white gloves. How to put this to Raditz? The Prince of the Saiyajin did not go begging to anyone, much less a mere first-class warrior! 

"There is a problem--I've already been wished back once with Earth's dragonballs, and no one knows where Namek's dragonballs or the Nameks are. They can't wish me back." 

"I could have been wished back with the dragonballs--funny how that never happened. Sympathy isn't one of my virtues, Vegeta." Raditz abruptly clapped the black stone to the demon's head, and watched coldly as the demon's head and body dissolved into mist and seeped into the stone. 

Damn! He's still bitter about that.. 'waste of a wish'. He'll be of no use to me. I had hoped his old loyalty--no. So be it. "I was better off without you," Vegeta said coldly, as he turned and walked away. 

Behind him, Raditz sighed. "Wait, Vegeta." 

"Why?" 

"I shouldn't have said that. I dug my own grave, and I didn't leave many friends behind. I've no right to complain.." 

Vegeta stopped, and turned back. He had trouble believing what he'd just heard. Raditz sounded.. almost.. repentant--and not bitter. "Did you leave any friends at all behind?" 

"One." Raditz smiled to himself. 

"Not me!" The idea that a mere warrior would be that familiar to his prince! 

"Vegeta, you were my prince and I was loyal to you unto death, but you were always 'the strong man who stands alone, above all'. Remember?" 

"Yes, I know. Who--" 

"Nappa. He was a good friend, mentor, and teacher--and he would have wished me back if he'd had the chance. He told me that much." Raditz spoke quietly. "I would have wished him back." 

Vegeta winced at the silent accusation striking home. It had not been easy, facing Nappa again. "Nappa should not have lost to a mere third-class warrior like Kakarott." Vegeta closed his eyes, and half-turned away, the regret in his face belying his callous words. 

Raditz looked at Vegeta, astonished. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then thought better of it. Although Raditz's emotions were written all over his face, as always, Prince Vegeta noted with approval that Raditz had finally learned that sometimes it is wiser to keep silent. 

Perhaps he can serve me in this--only 'serve' isn't the right word, is it? Damn it, I'm the Prince of the Saiyajin, I don't ASK anyone for help! 

"I don't have friends here," Vegeta said. "Though my father is.. my ally in this. There's only you, or Nappa, and Nappa--" 

"--is still a bit peeved at you for killing him." Raditz regarded his fallen prince thoughtfully. "When did you ever have any use for friends?" 

He's learned to think, too. If Raditz had lived, he might have been truly dangerous someday, and a worthy.. ally. Let's see how he handles the truth. Vegeta smirked. 

"I never had a use for them, but they're a nuisance I've acquired along with my wife and son. However, they're all alive and not here. By the way, how is Nappa otherwise?" 

Raditz just stood there. "Wife.. and.. son?" He blinked. "Wife and son? You have a wife and son?" 

Now I can see the resemblance between him and Kakarott! They both get that same stupid look like they've been smacked between the eyes with a large rock. 

"It does happen--we choose a mate, we have children.. I have heard that such a thing might have happened with our fathers," Vegeta's sarcasm was sharp enough to cut. "Now if you're paying attention.." 

Raditz recovered, managing to look and sound sarcastic himself. "Oh, you've got my attention. I'm curious as to what amazing thing I'm going to hear next." 

"My wife, Bulma--an old friend of Kakarott's--is alone and unprotected without me. They can't wish me back. I will find a way back myself." 

Raditz objected. "That's impossible! You can only go back as a ghost, and only if the way is opened for you..." 

"I could--and I have, briefly--but I mean to go back as myself, not a powerless ghost. I have learned that it has been done before, and if some mere human can do it, so can I!" Vegeta's eyes were wide with excitement and determination. 

"But how? As far as I know--" 

"There are other hells, deeper hells than this. Other pasts, other peoples now forgotten went to them. There are legends of humans and others escaping, or winning their way back to life from those hells." 

And they were merely weak humans; I am the Prince of the Saiyajin! No god, no demon, and no number of hells will separate me from my mate unless I will it! I will find my way back to her, and I will track that demon down to whatever hell he came from and pay him back for every tear she has shed! I swear it! Love and hate and rage churned through Vegeta's soul, a fearsome maelstrom. 

Raditz sensed the unshakeable purpose and fury that drove his prince--but he also knew, he thought, more of the dangers in what Vegeta intended. Raditz closed his eyes. "Of course. The mythic hells." He opened his eyes again. "You would. You can't resist a challenge like that! You know the way is guarded, don't you?" 

"Of course. I have my father's 'kind permission' to make the attempt; I also have your father's permission for one other thing." King Vegeta, Duke of the Hell of Evil Warriors, had not been overly enthusiastic about his son's proposed quest, but had grudgingly acceded. The occasionallly prescient Commander Bardock, Lord-General of the Legions of Hell, had been enigmatic but cooperative. At least he had released Raditz to the task Vegeta needed him to do, at most the rather cryptic advice he'd offered Vegeta might turn out to be of some use. 

"What?" Raditz lowered an eyebrow, suspicious. 

Vegeta clenched his jaw; this was so.. humiliating. Only for her could he do this--at least it was Raditz, and NOT Kakarott. "I don't know how long I'll be gone on this.. quest, but I won't be able to watch over her and protect her while I'm gone. I want you to do that." 

"WHAT????" 

*      *      *      *


	2. I. Upper Hell

## I. UPPER HELL

After some time, and many words, Raditz stared back at Vegeta, and finally, slowly, sheathed his all-but-forgotten sword. He shook his head. "I still don't know why I let you talk me into this." He hesitated. "Strike that--yes, I do. But.." he shrugged, looking for the words and not finding them. 

"But you don't know what I've gotten you into, do you?" Vegeta smirked, plainly amused. He looked out across the burning plain. Few beings could find anything amusing in the tormented landscape of Hell, but what amused Vegeta was visible only to his mind's eye. Suddenly, he laughed. 

"Trust me, Raditz! It's better than this, at least." He looked around. "You have to go back. I have to go.. forward." Vegeta pondered. "According to your father Bardock, the path I must follow starts somewhere around here, and is guarded by two ogres." 

It was Raditz's turn to smirk. "Oh, Slack and Slacker! I know those two clowns; a couple of lazy-ass lesser oni. They keep order in the uppermost Hell, the one for selfish, indecisive fools." 

"'Lesser' oni? Compared to what? The bull-demons?" Vegeta frowned. 

Raditz chuckled. "Oh, you've met the gozu-oni? Yes, I guess you would have, if you've spoken with your father. They're strong. But no, these guys are weaker, a lot weaker. One of them is a speedster, but no faster than a good Saiyan warrior, and the other fancies himself a strongman. Again, not so strong as we are. They're liars and cheats, though. You can't trust what they say unless you force the truth out of them." 

Vegeta smiled evilly. "So I might have to force the truth out of them? How.. unfortunate." 

"Yeah. Real unfortunate." The anticipatory gleam in Raditz's eyes matched Vegeta's. "I have to go that way, anyway, to add this stone," he tossed the black demon stone from hand to hand, "to their 'rock garden'. I can guide you that far, at least.. my prince." 

A short while later, they ascended the seared, black cliffs overlooking the burning plain, leaping from ledge to ledge to the top. Raditz paused to rest, and to point out a few landmarks. 

"Over there, beyond their little Camp for Losers, are Lord Enma's peach trees. Slack and Slacker are supposed to guard those, too, and not allow anyone to eat fruit from them." Raditz laughed. 

"So how many of those peaches have you eaten, Raditz?" Vegeta smirked. 

"At least one." Raditz grinned. "Those are the Peaches of Immortality-- too bad the immortality part only works for the living and for gods. Dead, damned bastards like us just get stronger, faster, tougher in spirit--and it regenerates our ki, our life force, which doesn't regenerate real well here. Not surprising, since we're dead. With the trip you're planning, some fresh fruit might prove a welcome snack along the way." 

He smirked. "Now, I go distract those clowns, and you get the peaches. They know I was hunting down there--they'd be expecting to see me come by sooner or later--they won't be suspicious of me." 

"You actually planned this!" Vegeta said mockingly. 

Raditz looked hurt. "I always have a plan--I just like to keep my plans simple. And sometimes things just don't go as planned." 

"Hmmph. Why bother with the games? If they are weaker, just take the peaches!" Vegeta waited; he was beginning to realize that Raditz had a reason for the seemingly odd things he did here. 

"Then they know for sure that we took the peaches, and that we can take peaches any time we want. If THAT happens, Lord Enma replaces them with something a lot tougher to guard his precious fruits, and no more free ki for us Demon Guardsmen. But, if Slack and Slacker down there aren't sure what happened, they keep their mouths shut and don't tell Lord Enma, because then their asses are on the line for failing to guard the tree." 

Raditz shook his long hair back. "It's not too bad for us, considering we're all dead and damned--but it's different. In some ways, REALLY different. And we have to play the game by the rules of here, not by the old rules of Vegetasai." 

Vegeta harkened to the warning in Raditz's voice. "I'm listening." 

"You already know you can't die, since you're already dead--but you sure can hurt like it all over again." Raditz started ticking things off on his fingers. "And there are things--like the ki-vampire demons I mentioned--that can make sure you're not good for much after they get done with you. Losing all your remaining ki, losing all your memories, losing your very form and identity--not fun." 

He continued, "Here, you don't get stronger from a beating--unless you learn something from it. That one took me a long time to understand; it took me even longer to find out that I didn't have to get beaten up to learn something." Raditz smiled wryly. 

"Oh, yeah," Raditz added, "time is subjective." 

"What?" Vegeta looked disturbed. 

"How long have I been dead, Vegeta?" 

"Eight years. Don't you know that?" 

"No, I didn't. I'm only absolutely sure of the first two years, plus some time after that. There is something about this realm that keeps everything from happening in the same place at the same time, but it isn't exactly like what you'd think of as Space and Time. For one thing, it changes depending on what you are doing, or how you look at it, or whatever." 

Raditz looked at Vegeta with concern, and continued, emphasizing his words carefully. "The further you get from the mortal world, the vaguer Time gets, and you're going into the mythic hells--further from the mortal world than anything short of Chaos itself. Even if you succeed in returning to life, you might find that a thousand years have passed while you were gone." 

Vegeta was wide-eyed and very worried. "There must be a way around it! I will not be stopped before I even get started!" He thought for a time. "Why are you sure of the first two years?" 

Raditz stared off into the distance for a while before continuing. "I witnessed.. the consequences of all my own stupidity and.. evil. I saw you kill Nappa--" Vegeta stiffened momentarily, "--and I watched the battle between you and Kakarott, knowing it was all my doing that either my brother or my prince would die." He smiled at the irony, "I never expected that you would both survive! Gods, that was a weight off my soul!" 

"That was the first year. After Kakarott's battle with Frieza--and every Saiyan in Hell watched that battle!--as you well know, for you were there, my prince." Raditz saluted his fallen prince. "That must have been strange, fighting the same battle in both worlds, living and dead," he marveled. "After that battle," Raditz continued, "there was nothing to bind me to the mortal world, and time, again--except that time when somebody wished the bunch of us back to fight you and Kakarott." 

"There is something to bind ME to the mortal world," Vegeta said softly, almost to himself. In his memories, he held a beautiful blue-haired woman close, and marveled at a precocious, violet-haired child. "Bulma. Trunks," he whispered to himself. 

He turned back to Raditz. "Do you know where the path to the mythic hells is?" Raditz shook his head in negation. "Then I will have to force the truth out of those oni of yours. Distract them, then go. You know the path you must take; I will find out the path I must take." Vegeta smirked in that devilish way of his. 

Raditz nodded, and started down the canyon toward the oni's 'camp'. 

"Raditz.." The long-haired Saiyan looked back at his prince. "Protect them." 

*      *      *      *

"AAAAAAAAH!" The red ogre writhed futilely in Vegeta's grasp. "You didn't have to dislocate my shoulder! You could have just asked!" 

"I did ask, quite nicely." Vegeta kept the ogre's arm twisted unnaturally behind his back. "You lied to me. It might have worked.. once. Too bad for you that Kakarott told me about the stairway up to Lord Enma's hall, and that I recognized it." 

"It was a joke, okay! Can't any of you Saiyajin take a joke?" The oni demon was sweating heavily; he could expect no help from his partner. The blue ogre was embedded head downward quite deeply in the banks of the Pool of Blood, and would be a long time digging himself out. 

"My favorite jokes usually involve someone's violent death. As you can see, I naturally don't 'take jokes' very well." 

"Yikes! You belong down below the Pool of Blood, what are you doing up here bothering us?" The red ogre whined. 

"I was down below, I came up for the scenery. I already told you what I want--don't annoy me more than you have already. Or are you one of those perverts who enjoys his own pain?" Vegeta twisted the ogre's loose shoulder again. 

"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH! DO I LOOK LIKE I'M ENJOYING THIS?? ALL RIGHT, ALREADY! I'll guide you to the Cave of Avernus, I really will this time! Just let my arm go!" 

"I don't think I will. I'll keep it, until I see this cave. If I think you've tricked me again, you've got a second arm." Vegeta was smiling now. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER II. DIRE WOOD


	3. II. Dire Wood

##  II. DIRE WOOD

The cavern sloped steeply downward for countless miles, its silence and darkness relieved only by the slight glow of power around Prince Vegeta, and the sound of his footsteps. Vegeta feared he would lose track of Time in the endless unchanging gloom; only his memories kept changing. 

Vegeta remembered his first glimpse of her--she was with that bald idiot Kulilin on Namek, and he had a dragonball. Vegeta had deigned to ask for the dragonball rather than blasting them into oblivion and taking it for two reasons: the presence of Kulilin meant Kakarott couldn't be too far away, and Vegeta wasn't getting in a fight with Kakarott while he was still fighting running battles with Frieza's forces--that would have been sheer folly--and second, for some reason he found the girl very pleasant to look at. Then Zarbon had to show up. 

He'd almost dismissed the blue-haired girl as a complete idiot after that; thinking Zarbon was a soft-headed fool like Kakarott just because he was good-looking! Even that moron Kulilin wasn't that stupid! She'd certainly changed her attitude about Zarbon after he'd transformed into the trollish monstrosity that was his ultimate fighting form--hah! Vegeta grinned to himself; sure, he'd wanted to fight Zarbon at his best, so the bastard would go to hell knowing he'd been well and truly beaten by the prince of the Saiyajin--but that wasn't the only reason he'd goaded Zarbon into transforming. Not the only reason at all! 

That thought cheered him for a while, another few miles downward. He'd found out Bulma wasn't an idiot after all--when they'd all been wished back to Earth. Once she stopped moping around about Kakarott, she'd taken charge and gotten everyone sorted out and taken care of. So she couldn't fight; she could handle all those annoying details that made Vegeta want to go out and fight something rather than deal with them. And she was, in her own way, a genius. Hand her an alien machine she'd never seen before, and within hours she'd have it disassembled and rebuilt to suit her--and it would probably work better than before. Sit her at the console of an alien starship, and she'd be piloting it better than the builders in five minutes. So she was physically weak, and seemed to lack basic common sense--Vegeta was strong enough, and had sense enough for both, and their other strengths and weaknesses complemented each other so very well! 

She would have made a fine queen of Vegetasai. 

*      *      *      *

The tunnel forked. Vegeta frowned; there had been no mention of this. He reached into his armor and pulled out one of the peaches he had stashed there and began to eat it as he studied the cavern carefully. No, the ogre had not lied; this secondary tunnel was new--assuming there were such things as erosion and deposition here and the flowstone in the main tunnel suggested that there were. The stone was scarred and fused where something had rudely torn a new tunnel through the floor of Hell. 

Yes; this must be where the demon had smashed his way into the Lower Hells! He'd thought--he'd hoped--he might find some trace of its backtrail along this route. He finished the juicy peach and fastidiously wiped the juice off his gloves. Raditz had been correct; he could feel his power returning. Until now, Vegeta hadn't realized just how much he had lost from death and the demon's near-rape of his soul. 

Accursed monstrosity! Not content with killing him, the demon had attacked him in the spirit world after Kakarott destroyed the monster's physical form. 

Demon-slain, he'd been caught in the borderland between one world and the next, unable to find his way to the underworld and peace. For days, Vegeta had drifted, a near-powerless ghost; he'd witnessed Bulma's terrible grief, the broken despair in which she'd cried herself to sleep every night. Her pain, and his helplessness to do anything about it nearly tore him apart--and then the wounded demon had come after him, hungry for his remaining power and soul-essence. 

He'd been snatched from the demon's claws by one he never expected--his father, King Vegeta. From the Hell he and his most powerful warriors had come, in pursuit of the abomination, and found in its path his dead, broken son. The last prince of Vegetasai once again ended life as he began it, held in the strong arms of his proud father. 

"Forget your pride, my child! Fate alone brought me to you in time, and you shall NOT be meat for this abomination's hunger!" King Vegeta was grim as he escorted his slain son to his kingdom. "That thing has threatened my kingdom, and nothing and no one has stood against it--except you and Kakarott and Kakarott's whelp!" 

"Threatened YOUR kingdom? But your kingdom is.. Hell." 

Later, Vegeta learned what his father had meant. The demon that had killed him had come through the lower hells on its way to Earth. It had erupted from below, tearing its way up from the forgotten, mythic hells to smash its way through the lower hells to its goal--a rift leading to Earth. A forbidden goal, for things of the hells may not freely walk the physical world--though some of them have tried, and a few succeeded. It was the purpose of the Demon Guard to stop such violations of reality. 

They'd tried to stop it, damned Saiyans, great Ouzaru, and Hell's own demons alike--nothing had stood before it. Saiyans, Gozu-Oni, other monsters had been swept aside like straws in a hurricane. It was no demon of any Hell known to King Vegeta, or Commander Bardock, or even the little blue demons of the Bureaucracy, who knew everything. It came from the forgotten past, and it pursued its goal with unstoppable fury. 

Its goal had been a mystery, save for this: its single-minded goal had been the rift to Earth. And on Earth.. Vegeta shuddered, remembering the thing's obsession with Gohan--and his own family. Its goal had been their despair and death--but why? What had brought this unspeakable monstrosity howling out of the abyss for his blood? It made no sense! 

Prince Vegeta did not like things that made no sense; in his experience, there was always a reason behind even apparently senseless acts. The apparent senselessness only meant that the reasons were hidden from him. Vegeta especially did not like things with hidden reasons that brought death and destruction on him and his family. He would find his way back, as he had told Raditz; but he would also find out the hidden reasons. 

"You really shouldn't have killed me, demon!" His voice echoed off the tunnel walls. "You don't know what kind of enemy you've made, do you?" He idly tossed the peach pit in one hand. "Good. Remain ignorant; I will not!" Vegeta tucked the pit in his armor, and continued down into the depths. 

*      *      *      *

Vegeta blinked as he emerged into the light. It wasn't much light, only a grey dreariness overhanging the wood, but it nearly blinded him after the unrelieved darkness of the tunnel. And what a wood! An endless expanse of black, leafless trees spread before him. Not the black of rain-darkened wood, or even ebony, but pure, obsidian blackness. Even the ground below his feet was black, like some volcanic sand beach. Black soil, black pebbles, black moss, everything black. 

Nothing moved. A few questionable paths seemed to wind into the woods; Vegeta did not trust them. "Now what? Somewhere in all this is a guide to the next underworld; so Bardock said. Hmmph. And I see no signs of the demon's backtrail." Vegeta frowned. 

He listened. A cold wind seemed to sigh and moan through the dire woods; still nothing moved. He could sense no powers, but Vegeta wasn't sure how that worked here. 

A flash of color, of movement! Vegeta turned; it was gone--no, there it was! A flash of gold amid the blackness. It was something; Vegeta ran after it. 

A glade of black grass in the forest; across it from the fallen prince stood a deer, a silver-spotted golden deer with ivory antlers and flint-black hooves, a sapphire-blue metal face, amethyst eyes, bright red tongue and a pale-pink belly. He held his tail straight up and arched his neck a little and ran off. 

"What kind of deer is that? Earth has no such creature!" Vegeta stared after it in astonishment. Finally, he laughed. "The little deer wants to play! Well, some venison would be quite tasty after that peach." He ran after the golden deer, fleeter of foot than any earthly animal. 

Now and then the deer seemed to tire, or lose its way, and Vegeta almost caught up with it--but the creature would put on another burst of speed, and leave him behind. The prince never quite lost sight of the darting flash of gold in the black, black wood, and always managed to almost catch up with it.. Time slipped away as he pursued the deceptive golden deer, days and weeks of time, while a grieving wife searched for a wish, a ghost found a friend in an innocent child, and an ancient evil stirred to wakefulness, only to be brought down by the living and the dead. 

*      *      *      *

Somewhere in the borderlands between spirit and life, a foulness bided its time. Its curse had begun; in slaying the one, it had brought grief and despair to the mate and child and friends. Soon, soon, it would be ready to strike again. The unexpected hero had been stronger than any it had ever fought before; the hero had defeated it, dispersing its physical form; it would prepare carefully before fighting that one again. But it was confident; now it recognized the hero's kind, and knew their strengths and weaknesses. It would return in a form designed to defeat all their strengths, and prey on their weaknesses. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER III. ALONG THE WAY


	4. III. Along the Way

##  III. ALONG THE WAY

In the mountain valley below Black Earth Mountain, Bulma sighed and finally slammed the trunk lid. She was surprised; it wasn't even noon yet. The wild frenzy of the last battle with the Opawang, Raditz's second death, Gohan's furious pursuit of the evil sorceror, the final destruction of the Opawang, the freeing of the two kami, and Raditz's second resurrection had all happened in less than an hour.{1} Rounding up scattered gear, accepting the gratitude of the villagers, and getting the kids into the car had taken longer. 

Gohan had spent most of that time discussing something with Piccolo--Bulma thought that 'something' was probably Raditz, judging from Piccolo's angry glances and Gohan's gestures in the Saiyan's direction. For a while, the discussion seemed more like an argument, but they finally settled whatever it was and calmed down. 

Goku got the kids settled down, and Raditz made himself useful helping Bulma get everything else rounded up. 

"Okay, guys! I'd love to drive everyone back, but this is only a four-seater, and I'm not packing the kids in the trunk, even if that's the way they came in the first place. One of you can hold Goten in his lap, and Trunks is riding with me, so that means two of you can ride in the car." She looked hard at Gohan. "And I really think one of you should be Gohan, because you're looking pretty bushed right now." 

Gohan nodded tiredly in agreement, and looked at the other adults questioningly. 

"I don't need a ride, I'm not going back that way." Piccolo growled, then smiled at Gohan. "Take care of yourself, Gohan." He gave Raditz one last suspicious glare, and flew off, rapidly disappearing into the distance. 

Goku looked Raditz up and down, once again taking in his rent and shattered armor and glancing at the myriad streaks of blood still staining the pavement. He didn't say anything about it, but his concern was obvious. "I'll just teleport home. See you when you get there!" With that, he put two fingers to his forehead and vanished in a *pop* of displaced air. 

"Kakarott!" Raditz's eyes went wide. "How'd he do that? WHAT did he do?" 

"Oh, yeah, Dad can teleport. He learned it from some aliens on his way back from Namek." Gohan yawned; he was tired. The fight had taken a lot out of him. 

"Oh." 

"*Ahem*" Bulma got their attention. "Could we get this show on the road? The kids are already falling asleep! Raditz, you're the only one who looks half-way awake, so ride in the front with me, and wake me up if I start nodding off behind the wheel. Gohan, you hold Goten and sit with Trunks in back." She waited for everyone to take their seats. "Let's go!" 

*      *      *      *

"Hi, Chi-chi!" Goku stuck his head in the back door. "I'm back!" 

"Goku!" Chi-chi dashed out the back door, and quickly looked around the back yard. No one else there. "WHERE ARE THEY?" She raised the cooking spoon she was holding in a threatening manner. 

Goku put his hands up in an impromptu block and backpedalled. "They're okay, Chi-chi! THEY'RE OKAY! I just teleported home ahead of them! They'll be here as soon as Bulma can drive over!" 

Chi-chi lowered the spoon. "My babies are okay?" Her evident worry distressed Goku. 

"They're fine." He hugged her and held her. "Gohan got roughed up a bit, but nothing a bath and dinner won't fix. Goten's fine, just tired. It was all over by the time Piccolo and I got there, and everyone is okay. You'll see." Goku smiled. "But they're all going to be starving!" 

"All over? So something DID happen? But they're okay?" Chi-chi seemed unconvinced that everything was really okay. 

"Something did happen, but Bulma wouldn't tell me until after everyone got home and had dinner, so I guess we'll have to wait. Everyone is really okay--just a few cuts and bruises at worst." Goku hugged Chi-chi again, then stood back and looked at her, grinning. 

Chi-chi couldn't help smiling back. "I guess you wouldn't be so happy if someone had gotten hurt and you were just trying to spare me the worry." She headed back inside. "I sent Kulilin off with a grocery list, and everyone else is in the living room. I'm getting some snacks together now; there should be some hot tea left in the pot on the table." 

"Everyone else?" Goku wondered. Then Master Roshi entered the kitchen. 

"Hello, Goku! Everyone's okay, then?" Goku's old sensei looked delighted to see him unscathed. 

"Master Roshi! This is a nice surprise; what are you doing here? And Kulilin, too?" Goku looked puzzled. 

"And me and Tenshinhan and Chaozu!" Yamcha stuck his head in the kitchen. "Don't forget me!" came the high voice of Puar from somewhere in the living room. Goku looked more puzzled than ever. 

"Chi-chi asked us to help, after you left and she read Bulma's files." Master Roshi explained, looking serious. "There was some very disturbing information there--even Chi-chi had no idea HOW disturbing!--and she was worried about you.. especially.. considering how Vegeta died." 

It was Goku's turn to look serious. "What do you mean?" 

"Come." Master Roshi led Goku out to the living room, and nodded to Dr. Briefs, who was sitting at the computer. "Show Goku." 

With some difficulty, Goku slowly read over the incriminating "Folklore" files, looking more and more serious as he read. "So that's what he was talking about!" he muttered to himself. 

Goku looked up, and was all smiles again. "They won, though. Bulma promised the full story after she got here and had dinner, so stop worrying!" 

Master Roshi shook his head. "I guess it wasn't what I was worrying about, then. This," he gestured at the computer's screen, "reminded me of an ancient--and true--legend of an immortal evil sorceror called the Opawang. I feared that Bulma had stumbled on that evil, and great tragedy had befallen us." Master Roshi smiled. "I am more relieved than you can imagine to know that everything turned out for the best." 

"Me, too!" spoke up Chaozu. A chorus of "yea! uh-huh!" and general agreement came from the others. Puar did a few backflips and landed on Yamcha's shoulder again. Oolong came out from behind the couch where he'd been hiding. 

Goku smiled, and then frowned. He sniffed the air. "I guess flying all over with Piccolo worked up a sweat--I'm going to hit the showers before everyone else gets back. They'll be wanting to use them, too. And I need to dig out some extra clothes." With that he headed down the hall. 

Chi-chi stepped out of the kitchen with a tray of snacks. "Where's Goku?" 

"Uh, the shower?" volunteered Yamcha as he dove into the snacks. 

Chi-chi looked mildly exasperated. "I wanted to ask him--oh well, it'll just have to wait." She disappeared back into the kitchen. Master Roshi thought he heard her mutter something, and raised an eyebrow. What did she mean by "the fifth Saiyan"? 

*      *      *      *

In Hell, in the black wood, Vegeta paused in his long, long chase of the golden deer. The creature had stopped; it no longer ran off at the very edge of sight. What had happened? Wary, Prince Vegeta stalked the golden deer. 

By the edge of a dark stream the golden deer struggled, caught in the grasp of a horned, goat-headed demon. A second, diseased-looking goat-demon stood nearby, leering at the deer. 

"So what do we do with it?" asked the first demon, powerful muscles bunching as his grip tightened on the helpless animal. "Eat it, or--?" 

"Is it male or female?" the other demon rasped, purple tongue hanging out. Oozing sores covered its grey skin, and it drooled. 

"Let me check," the first one said, as it flipped the deer over none too gently. 

Something about the goat-demons made Vegeta's skin crawl. He stepped out of the woods. Both demon's heads whipped around as they noticed him. 

"Whatever THAT is, it's male!" snapped the demon holding the deer. 

The second demon nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but we could still have some fun with him before we eat him, huh-huh-huh." 

"Do ya think he'll squeal like that other guy?" The first demon dropped the deer and stalked toward Vegeta, clawed arms spread wide to catch and tear. 

Vegeta merely stared at the demons in silent contempt as the over-muscled deer-catcher approached him. He could sense their power--it was pitifully weak, if tainted and foul. Something familiar about that foulness.. 

"He's stiff with fear! Oh, this is gonna be fun!" The demon giggled and tried to tackle Vegeta. 

Vegeta wasn't there. Suddenly he was behind the demon, and almost negligently slammed a elbow into the beast's spine. KRACK! The demon fell, writhing--but only the top half of his body still moved. A quick stamp of Vegeta's foot against its skull and the rest of the demon stopped moving, too. The broken demon dissolved into a powerless wisp of spirit and seeped away. 

The other demon slurped its purple tongue back into its mouth, and panicked. It started to run on sharp-nailed, humanoid feet. Vegeta hit it from behind, thrusting his gloved hand between its ribs and seizing its black heart. He crushed it, breaking the demon, stealing its power-- 

The demon's essence washed over him, into him; a foul, perverted distortion of fertility and desire--love twisted inside out into hate; physical desire perverted into lust and rape; shared pleasure become the infliction of pain and degradation on the weaker by the stronger, and fertility twisted into-- 

Vegeta cried out, and flung the foul thing away from him. He summoned power, and flung it, burning and blasting the horrid creature for long minutes, until no trace of its manifestation remained. He stood, breathing heavily with emotion and exertion, shaking. Vegeta felt tainted, befouled by the thing. He raised his head. 

The stream! The dead prince flung himself face down into the bitterly cold stream, letting water wash over him, wash the foulness away. Vegeta recognized what was familiar about the demons' nature. The foulness, the taint, was the same--that same perversion of nature and reality that made up the essence of the monster that killed him. He'd found the demon's backtrail--but, oh gods, he could have happily endured a thousand years of Hell rather than learn what "broobirth" was! 

Vegeta lay there for uncounted hours, shuddering, while the icy black waters of Styx's nameless daughter answered his unvoiced prayer and washed the taint of Chaos away. Finally, he stirred. 

"Vegeta, remember that you are a Saiyan!" he admonished himself, as he got to his feet again. "Broo.." he spat in disgust. "So they call themselves. Abominations! Living or spirit, I will destroy them wherever I find them!" The Saiyan prince looked around. Across the stream, the golden deer looked at him timidly, and bounded up the bank. It stopped, looking back over its shoulder at him. 

"So YOU are my guide, are you? Show me the way, then, and enough of these games!" 

The deer cocked its head, and almost seemed to nod, then bounded away. Vegeta swiftly followed. 

*      *      *      *

Bulma started as something nudged her shoulder. "Huh?" she said, and then realized she'd been-- 

"You were falling asleep," Raditz said. He was leaning back, letting the slipstream blow his long hair out straight as he relaxed. His eyes were half-closed, but an occasional glance in Bulma's direction betrayed his alertness. 

"Oh. Thanks." She looked around. The kids were all asleep. Gohan slumped with his head back; Goten slept curled up in his lap. Trunks lay across the seat with his head against Gohan's hip. Bulma yawned--and stopped guiltily as Raditz opened his eyes and arched an eyebrow, watching her. 

"I'm not falling asleep again!" She yawned again. "Okay, I am tired--last night wasn't the most restful night I've ever spent! How come you're so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed--er, well, bright-eyed, anyway?" 

Raditz smirked. "Being revived from death is.. invigorating. Heh. I guess healing the big things, like being dead, fixes the little stuff, like being tired, cut and bruised. I've never felt better in my life!" 

"Okaaaay.. I think I'll pass on that method of getting my energy back, thank you. I'm glad you're all better, though." Bulma adeptly steered the car through a pass in the lower coastal mountains and picked up a road to follow. 

Raditz looked thoughtful. "You really are, aren't you?" he said, wonder in his voice. 

"Yes! Raditz, you're not so bad now that you're off this 'Kakarott has to join us in exterminating planets or else!' thing you were on. There's more to you than I would have suspected from our original meeting-- and, you're like Vegeta--once you drop the arrogant tough-guy act, you're.." she looked at him critically, "hrmmmm.. very handsome, and uhm.. very.. masculine. Ummm-hmmm." Bulma, she scolded herself, calm down, you're married! 

He raised an eyebrow. "So human females would find me.. attractive?" 

"You're going to be beating 'em off with a stick--figuratively speaking. Lose that Saiyan contempt for anyone weaker than you--we human women don't like to be treated with contempt-- and you'll do fine." Bulma was blushing a bit. 

"I see." The corner of his mouth turned up with the hint of a smile. "This life may turn out more.. interesting than I thought." Raditz regarded Bulma more seriously. "I do thank you for bringing me back to life--even unintentionally." 

"I think you mentioned that before, but I wasn't quite sure how to take it at the time--I couldn't decide between 'shock' and 'terror'." Bulma smiled wryly. "Little Goten came along at just the right moment, didn't he?" 

Raditz smiled, remembering. "Yeah, things were getting a bit tense when the kid jumped me." The big saiyan laughed. "He's been trying to catch my hair for weeks, and he finally got it--happiest I've ever seen him. And, what the hell, I was pretty damn happy right then, just to be alive again! I still am." 

The car swooped low around the shoulder of a mountain; Bulma slowed down as she looked for landmarks. "All right! There it is--that clearing at the end of the road! WAKE UP, KIDS, WE'RE HOME!" 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER IV. A LONG STORY

* * *

1\. As told in "Raditz's Return".


	5. IV. A Long Story

## IV. A LONG STORY

Yamcha heard the aircar first. "Hey! That must be them! Come on, everybody!" He ran out the front door and stood in the yard, peering up at the car silohuetted against the bright sky. Tenshinhan, Chaozu, and Master Roshi soon joined him. Goku sauntered out a minute later. 

Master Roshi frowned. "I sense Gohan and the children, and Bulma, but who's the fifth person? He has some power--nothing like Gohan or you, Goku, but.." not someone I'd like to get in a fight with in a dark alley, he thought to himself. 

Goku smiled innocently and said nothing. Master Roshi eyed his former student suspiciously; what did Goku know that they did not? 

Finally Bulma decided she had the car lined up right, and dropped the last twenty feet all at once, then settled the car delicately the last foot onto its skids. Everyone piled out at once, including the very tall, broad-shouldered, incredibly long-haired, _tailed_ Saiyan in the most battered, torn-up, and shattered armor anyone had ever seen anyone wear. Gohan carried Goten, who was trying to grab the mysterious Saiyan's hair, and Trunks raced excitedly around his mother and the big Saiyan warrior. 

Yamcha, Tenshinhan and Chaozu gaped at the mystery Saiyan. 

"Who the heck is that?" Yamcha finally got out, as he looked at his comrades. Not all of them were as mystified. Goku was grinning from ear to ear, as if playing a secret joke on all of them. Master Roshi clung desperately to his staff as his knees went weak and shaky. From the look on his face, he recognized the long-maned Saiyan, and not as a friend. 

The tall Saiyan stopped and regarded Master Roshi. "You remember me, elder," he said in a soft, fierce voice. "I don't know these others, but I do remember you. Where is the other one, the small bald warrior?" 

Master Roshi had a hard time finding his voice. He looked at his favorite pupil. "Goku? How--??" 

Chi-chi walked out the front door, still mixing a bowl of dough. "Goku, I've been trying to ask you--oh! Gohan! Goten! Hold this, Goku!" She shoved the bowl into his hands, and ran past the tall Saiyan to hug her children. "You're okay! You really are okay! Let me see--oh, Gohan, you've been hurt! How'd you get burned like that? Come inside, I'll get you all fixed up." She looked over her shoulder at the bemused Saiyan warrior as she marched Gohan inside. "You must be the fifth Saiyan Bulma said was coming to dinner. Goku, introduce me to your new friend after I get Gohan taken care of--and give that dough to Kulilin, he's helping me out." 

Bulma stood slightly behind and beside the Saiyan, her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently. Trunks held his mother's hand and looked wide-eyed at the assembled warriors on Son Goku's front porch. 

The tall Saiyan warrior smirked. "Kakarott, you really should introduce me to your friends. I seem to be making them nervous." 

Yamcha and Tenshinhan did look disturbed, rattled by Master Roshi's reaction to the alien warrior. A glimmering of suspicion began in Yamcha's mind, as he started to remember the one Saiyan that Master Roshi, Goku and Kulilin had encountered that he had not--a suspicion promptly confirmed by Goku. 

"Master Roshi, I see you remember my brother Raditz. Yamcha, Tien, Chaozu, Raditz is my older brother--I think you heard about him before. Don't worry, he's okay, now." Goku still looked wonderfully innocent. 

"Remarkably so, all things considered," Raditz said dryly. 

Yamcha and Tienshinhan and Chaozu just stood open-mouthed with surprise. Master Roshi, who had already recognized Raditz, recovered his composure. He squinted at Raditz. 

"I'll say--even Vegeta's armor wasn't that smashed up when he showed up on Earth after being killed on Namek. Something must have happened up there in those mountains--you didn't look that bad even after.." Master Roshi trailed off. 

"..Even after I was dead from my fight with Kakarott?" Raditz pointed out the circular hole punched through the middle of his torso armor. "That was Piccolo's work eight years ago. As for the rest--" 

Bulma elbowed Raditz sharply. "Not until AFTER dinner! I want to tell this story ONCE, not once for each person here. Trust me, you start spilling it piecemeal, we'll wind up explaining everything ten times each! I think I spent three months explaining the Namek mess to everyone, one person at a time--I don't want to do that again!" 

Master Roshi shook his head, still mystified. He ignored Bulma to address Raditz, "How? Why are you here with Bulma and Gohan?" 

Raditz half-shook his head. "How--part of the story. Why--instead, ask 'why am I here with Bulma and Trunks?' and you'll be closer to the answer--or do you not remember who one of my 'partners' was?" 

"Of course--Vegeta." Master Roshi nodded. "I think I understand now." 

"Do you?" Raditz asked. "No matter.. I think you will, before the night is over." With that, he started to follow the impatient Bulma into the house, asking her something about his scouter, only to stop as Goku interrupted him. 

"Raditz, I'm forgetting my manners. I introduced you to my friends, but not my friends to you--this is Master Muten Roshi, the Turtle Elder, and my first sensei--you do remember him from before, and this is Yamcha, whom I met a long time ago not long after I met Bulma-- wow, that'll be another whole night to tell THAT story!--and this is Tenshinhan and Chaozu.. Hmm, that's yet another long story. Let's just say they're good friends, and among Earth's great warriors. Kulilin's around here somewhere--he's the other warrior who was with Master Roshi and me when you showed up the first time, and, um.." Goku paused. 

"..that's another long story?" Raditz filled in helpfully. 

"Yep." Goku grinned. Raditz impulsively grinned back. 

*      *      *      *

Kulilin wiped his hands on a towel and hurried out of the kitchen, into the living room. Bulma was just coming in the front door, and was talking over her shoulder to someone behind her--Goku, Kulilin supposed. 

"The scouter?" she said. "It broke when Goku and Vegeta were fighting, but I still have it around somewhere--I always meant to see if I could repair it, but never got around to it before we dashed off to Namek, and after that I sort of forgot about it. Silly of me--there was some interesting technology in that device, and I could have used it later on." 

"Hi, Bulma!" Kulilin announced himself, walking up to greet his old friend. "Hey, funny you should mention that old thing--I had the weirdest nightmare the other night that Goku's evil brother Raditz had come back from the dead and was hunting for me because he wanted his scouter back--" 

As Bulma stepped into the living room, Kulilin suddenly realized he was face-to-stomach with the person following her into the house--a very large person in shattered saiyan armor. He looked up. 

Raditz smirked down at Kulilin. "Actually, I do want it back, but just to show Bulma something." 

"YAAAAHHHH!" Kulilin did a complete backflip across the room and landed on his feet. His face was dead white and his eyes were wide with pure terror. Oolong and Puar looked on in surprise. 

Bulma couldn't help laughing. "Raditz! That.."--she was laughing almost too hard to talk--"..wasn't very nice!" 

The long-haired Saiyan smiled. "Then why are you laughing so hard?" 

She tried to quell the laughter, but it kept bursting out in giggles. "Sorry, Kulilin, but you should have seen your face!" 

"..and people call me a coward!" Oolong muttered. 

Kulilin turned red and angry as he recovered from his momentary panic. "Bulma! What is HE doing here? How did he come back to life?" 

"I invited him, Kulilin, as did Bulma." Goku came in behind Raditz, who stood with his arms crossed, still amused by Kulilin's reaction. 

"Oh. Well, if you did, I guess it's okay--but I wish you wouldn't surprise me like this. You could have warned me--" 

Goku shook his head. "I still don't know the whole story myself. Bulma's waiting until we're all together after dinner." 

"And after a hot bath and a change of clothes, which I'm going to take care of right now." Bulma looked critically at Raditz. "You already got a bath at the spring--" 

"--courtesy of a supernaturally beautiful, completely unclad female nature kami." Raditz had an odd, dreamy expression on his face. Master Roshi, who'd just squeezed in past Goku, perked up at this. Raditz sighed. "Too bad I was dead at the time." 

"Now that is one of the most depressing things I've heard yet," Muten Roshi muttered. 

Oolong's eyes widened and his ears perked. "A naked goddess for a bath girl? I really, really want to hear this story! Bulma, can't dinner wait 'til later?" 

"OOOOOOHHH!" Bulma was red and furious. "DO YOU TWO PERVERTS MIND?? There are children here! Raditz, keep the colorful descriptions to yourself--it only encourages them!" She glared at Oolong and Muten Roshi, and then turned back to Raditz. 

"--AS I WAS SAYING, you've already had a bath, but you really need a change of clothes. Any more of your armor falls off, you'll violate several public decency laws. Trunks, you're next in line for the shower." Bulma disappeared down the hall without waiting for any responses. 

Goku handed the mixing bowl to Kulilin and beckoned to Raditz. "Come on, I've got something for you." Raditz nodded and followed Goku out of the room. 

Behind them, Kulilin could be heard: "Man, this is nuts!" 

*      *      *      *

"Gohan, honey, you're wiggling more than the baby! Hold still, I'm almost done. There; we've got all those nasty burns dressed and bandaged." Chi-chi started to put away the medical supplies, and then reconsidered. "I'll leave these out for Bulma; she looked hurt, too." 

"It's worse than it looks, Mom. You didn't really have to--" 

"Gohan." The tone of her voice warned Gohan; he suddenly grew silent. "I don't know how you and Bulma managed to find so much trouble in a peaceful mountain village in Japan, but I've given up hoping that you and your father will stay out of danger. You seem to attract it, without even meaning to. But--" she glared at him, "what were you thinking of, dragging little Goten and Trunks into it?" 

"Mom! I didn't even know they were with us! I didn't--" he shrugged helplessly at his mother's skeptical frown. "Ask Raditz! He was there, he knew what the kids were doing long before I did!" 

"Ask who?" Chi-chi looked puzzled. 

Voices drifted down the hall as Goku and Raditz came out of Goku's room. "Yeah, thanks, Kakarott. Bulma was right--that armor is a complete loss. No, don't throw it out yet, there's something stashed in the remote pocket that I want to give to Bulma--assuming it survived all the abuse that armor's taken in the last eight years. Heh." 

Raditz wore a blue sleeveless gi and pants, and had tied his hair back in a loose ponytail. It didn't do much to restrain his hair, which still exploded all over his back down to below his knees, but at least it would keep it out of his dinner. 

Chi-chi regarded him quizzically. "Umm, Goku? You never did introduce me to your friend." 

Goku smacked himself on the forehead. "I'm sorry, Chi-chi, that was rude of me. Chi-chi, this is my older brother Raditz. Raditz, this is my wife Chi-chi--" Goku put his arm around Chi-chi's shoulder to steady her as she swayed, looking faint. 

She steadied, and a dangerous light glittered in her eyes. Chi-chi stepped forward to face Raditz. "So you're Goku's brother? You're the person responsible for Goku getting killed the first time, and you kidnapped my little baby Gohan--and because of YOU, he was Piccolo's prisoner for a year!" 

"Mom! Um, mom?" Gohan sounded worried, behind her. 

"Uh, Chi-chi, I--" Goku started to say something, then Raditz stepped forward. 

"Kakarott, this is mine to deal with, because she's right." He gently pulled Chi-chi into the nearest empty room--she was too startled to resist--and looked hard at an equally startled Goku. "Trust me." Then Raditz closed the door. 

Goku and Gohan could hear Raditz speaking in a low, urgent voice for a few minutes. Then Chi-chi answered, also in a low voice, followed by the distinct sound of a slap. Gohan almost flung the door open then, but Goku restrained him, shaking his head. 

Chi-chi opened the door, looking satisfied with herself. "Goku, your brother Raditz is welcome to dinner, in fact he is welcome to stay as long as he likes. But, honey, next time one of your long-lost, formerly dead relatives shows up for dinner--let me know ahead of time, okay?" She smiled sweetly and sauntered down the hall toward the living room and kitchen. 

Raditz came out looking a bit subdued, and both Goku and Gohan could see the red print of a hand on Raditz's left cheek. Goku and Gohan exchanged glances, and Goku shook his head ever so slightly. They followed Chi-chi's lead, and headed for living room without mentioning it. 

*      *      *      *

Chi-chi wiped perspiration off her forehead. "Whew! That's the last of it--Kulilin, call everyone to dinner." As he started to go, she added, "And Kulilin? Thank you so much for helping. I couldn't have gotten everything together for this crowd without it." 

"Aw, it was no trouble. I help Eighteen out all the time, since she's so busy with the baby. She would have come, too, but she had to stay home with our girl." 

Bulma entered the kitchen. "And I'm glad to hear it, Kulilin. At least you had the manners to do something besides idle about the house and watch Chi-chi work! Chi-chi, I'm sorry I couldn't be here to help sooner, but I'll at least help you serve all this and clean up afterwords." 

"Thank you, Bulma." Chi-chi smiled. "Do you know that you're sounding like your old self again? I told you staying with us would do you good, girl!" 

"Huh? What's this?" Kulilin asked as they started carrying food out to the tables. 

"Oh, Bulma was really depressed for weeks after Vegeta died--wasn't sleeping or eating. I was worried sick about her--you would have been, too, if you'd seen her." 

Kulilin looked downcast and ashamed. "I guess I should have checked on Bulma, but Eighteen and I were so busy and worn out with little Marron being sick and all--" 

"Kulilin! Don't be silly! It's not your fault, and you were right where you should have been, helping your wife with your kid!" Bulma looked indignant. "Anyway, I got over the worst part, the nightmares, the first night here, and..." she trailed off as she looked across the room at Raditz, who was already helping himself to the rack of ribs at his end of the table. "I wonder.." she looked thoughtful, remembering the dream samurai who had slain the demons of her nightmares--the samurai that had looked exactly like Raditz.{1} 

*      *      *      *

Finally, dinner and clean-up were done, and everyone gathered in the living room. Dr. Briefs and Ox King were the last to arrive, having eaten early and gotten "out of the way of the busy young folks" (actually, they'd retired to Ox King's room for an intense game of chess). Bulma noticed the knowing look Ox King gave to Raditz, and the slight, almost imperceptible nod Raditz made in response. What the heck? 

Raditz tossed his shattered armor on the low table in the middle of the room. "Exhibit A," he cheerfully said. "As I said before, this" he pointed to the circular hole punched through both front and back, "was Piccolo's work. The rest of the damage was the work of one evil, arrogant bastard whose like I never want to face again--called himself 'The Opawang'--" 

Master Roshi fainted. 

*      *      *      *

"I must be getting old," Master Roshi's voice quavered. "I was trained better than that by the time I was fifteen." Muten Roshi was stretched out on the couch; he sat up as a concerned Goku and Kulilin hovered over him. A damp cloth still clung to his forehead, placed there by an anxious Chi-chi. He pulled it off. 

Tenshinhan and Yamcha sat nearby, looking worried and just a little bit scared. Raditz had grabbed a spot on the other couch, but none of Goku's old friends had felt quite comfortable about sitting that close to him--so Trunks had grabbed the spot on his right, and Goten had crawled into Raditz's lap, wrapped himself up in a length of his uncle's hair, and gone to sleep. That had shocked Kulilin even more than Raditz's casual mention of the Opawang--little Goten's obvious familiarity with his uncle, and Raditz's open affection for the little boy. What had been going on here? 

Master Roshi was puzzled, and worried. "How did you escape, then? I know the legend of the Opawang--if even part of it is true, he is immortal and unbeatable." He looked around as if even now the evil sorceror or his minions might burst in upon them. 

"If your legend mentions that he was immortal, pretty much immune to damage, absorbed ki-energy like a demon, stole souls, and had weird magical attacks and defenses, yeah, your legend has some truth to it," Raditz said dryly. "And that's not mentioning his charming personality--an awful lot like Frieza's, only less friendly." 

Master Roshi went white again, and Chi-chi nearly fainted. 

"Well, for heaven's sakes, stop looking like you're about to jump out of your skin if someone says 'boo!'" interrupted Bulma. "He's dead, his minions are dead, and good riddance to the lot of them!" 

"Dead? But how can you kill an immortal?" wondered Muten Roshi. 

"First you strip him of his immortality," Raditz pointed out. 

"*Ahem* I'm telling this story, Raditz! I'll let you know when it is your turn." Bulma sounded a bit snappish. "Anyway, it all started when we left here two days ago..." 

"It started a bit earlier than that," Raditz muttered. 

Bulma stopped, glared at Raditz, and drummed her fingers, waiting. 

"Sorry." 

"Two days ago..." Bulma told the story{1}, with Raditz, Gohan, and Trunks filling in their pieces of the whole. Everyone's attention was riveted to the four of them--except for Goten, who slept cradled in his uncle's lap. There were many unexpected revelations... 

.."You mean Raditz was hanging around here as a ghost the whole time? Man, this is nuts!"... 

... 

.."So it was you who ended my nightmares!" Bulma was awed. 

... 

.."My little Goten can see ghosts?" Chi-chi fainted... 

... 

.."Ox-King, you knew he was here?? Why didn't you tell me?" 

"He said he was a friend of yours, Goku. I didn't know he was your brother." 

"No, I said 'I wish I had been', and 'I'd like to be'" corrected Raditz... 

... 

.."Trunks kidnapped Goten and hid in the trunk of the car and you watched the whole thing and didn't do anything about it! RADITZ!" 

"I was dead at the time. The only person listening to me was Goten, and none of you were listening to him--he's been telling you about me for the last six weeks!" 

"Raditz, I'm his mother, and I usually know what Goten is saying, but 'Nunk Rats no fun, want hair' does not obviously translate into 'Uncle Raditz is a ghost, and I want to play with his hair'!" ... 

... 

.."Trunks, you killed all the ghouls by yourself, after Raditz told you how? You are doing very well indeed--your father would be proud." Goku beamed at his latest student. 

"The only thing between my baby and dozens of hungry ghouls was a five-year-old boy??" Chi-chi fainted again... 

... 

.."Raditz saved the kids, and Gohan, and Bulma from the ghost Ochimo? We are talking about Goku's evil brother Raditz, right?" Yamcha cocked an eyebrow in Raditz's direction. 

"Could we drop the 'Goku's evil brother' prefix to my name? Unless, of course, you need it to tell me from the other half-dozen Raditzs you know- \--then you could just shorten it to 'Goku's brother'.".. 

... 

.."You taught the river kami SIGN LANGUAGE while I was off nearly getting my soul eaten by the Opawang?"... 

... 

.."I'm afraid Raditz was right--that was a remarkably careless wish!" Master Roshi shivered. 

"Yeah, it brought him back to life," Kulilin muttered. 

"KULILIN!" 

"Sorry, Bulma.".. 

... 

.."Gohan, aren't you glad I insisted that you take some extra food?" 

"Well, *I* was glad of it," noted Raditz 

"So was I!" added Trunks... 

... 

.."That monster kidnapped my baby??" Chi-chi looked faint... 

... 

.."TRUNKS killed the Air Ochimo? Whoa! I'm impressed!" Yamcha leaned over and exchanged a high-five with the violet-haired lad... 

... 

.."You left Goten with RADITZ??" 

"Mom, I couldn't very well carry him into a fight with the Opawang, and Raditz likes him, so I figured it was okay." 

"I was unconscious at the time, and didn't have much say in the matter.".. 

... 

.."Eeeyewww! That is one nasty attack--good thing the Opawang didn't use it on anyone else. Bad enough he tried to kill our Bulma with it! Raditz, I apologize for anything rude I've said to you today; some of the things I've said were petty--and you saved Bulma's life at the cost of your own. How'd you get back again?" Kulilin was puzzled... 

... 

.."A naked godd---ERRRKK!" Oolong found it hard to talk with Bulma's hands wrapped around his throat. 

"I warned you, Oolong!" Bulma snarled. 

"Um, Bulma?" 

"What, Yamcha?" 

"You really should let Oolong go; he's turning blue.".. 

... 

"..and then Dad and Piccolo showed up right after Raditz came back to life, to find us all pretty much okay. Dad looked kind of surprised to see Raditz, though." Gohan concluded. 

"That isn't quite the expression I'd use--'utterly astonished' was more like it," Goku replied. 

Raditz smirked. "Heh. Not half as astonished as I was to be there, little brother." 

... 

"Raditz is now Bulma's BODYGUARD? Man, this is COMPLETELY nuts!" 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER V. SHAH MAT

* * *

1\. As told in "Raditz's Return".


	6. V. Shah Mat

## V. SHAH MAT

The golden deer was gone. That was the first thing that Vegeta noticed as he stepped into the black glade. The second thing he noticed was the small wooden hut (black wood, thatched with black bark) in the center of the glade. The third thing Vegeta noticed was the old, old man who shuffled out of the little hut and smiled at him--like the deer, he was not black, and caught the eye. 

Vegeta's eyes narrowed. The white-haired, white-bearded old man appeared weak, no, downright feeble--but the Saiyan prince could not sense his power. For that matter, he'd never sensed the deer's power--something had hidden it from him. Neither the deer nor the old man were what they seemed. Caution, then. Vegeta would observe, and evaluate; determine what he was really dealing with, and whose side it was on before he acted. 

It was times like this he missed Nappa; the giant Saiyan had been a useful stalking horse, letting Vegeta evaluate his enemies in action against the elite warrior, giving him the information and time needed to form his strategy. Well, Nappa was not with him now, nor were those idiot friends of Kakarott's, who had served the same purpose many times later; Vegeta would just have to unravel these unknowns on his own. He ruthlessly suppressed his impatience and annoyance, and approached the seeming hermit. 

Before Vegeta could speak, the hermit greeted him. "Welcome, traveler! Few come this way, and fewer still that Old Maricha wishes to meet, but you are most welcome, noble prince!" 

"What? You know of me? But how--?" In his astonishment, Prince Vegeta quite forgot his manners and his plans. 

"You were advised to seek a guide in the Dire Wood, were you not, O Prince? What kind of guide would I be, if I did not know who and what passed through the wood of my exile? You are the prince of an ancient and noble race, this I can see with my own eyes; I do not know your quest--yet--save that it bears on the fate of the Three Worlds. But come, I am a poor host, to leave you thus standing." With that, the old man stepped inside his hut, and re-appeared with two simple wooden chairs--black, of course. 

"Well, why not?" Vegeta said to himself, and took the offered seat. The hermit came out with a small, round, black table and placed it between the two of them. On the table the old man set an ancient, dusty ceramic flask, and two tiny cups with no handles. Vegeta arched his eyebrows in a silent question. 

"For later," the old hermit answered. "Talking is thirsty work, when one is as unaccustomed to it as I am. Now, please tell me, what do you seek, O Prince? For I cannot guide a traveler who does not know what destination he seeks." 

"This traveler," Vegeta chose his words carefully, "wishes to know first what quality of guide he has found. I had not heard that Hell was populated by kind and helpful.. guides." Prince Vegeta stared cooly at the old man. 

The hermit sighed. "You are wise, noble prince. We who dwell in the Lower World have indeed earned our places here. I was once a man-eating demon of the Middle World, who preyed on travelers and holy hermits in an ancient forest. In death, I am cursed to be that which I once preyed upon, and to serve those who were my victims. As I once led a great prince astray, for my atonement I guide another prince on his true path." 

Prince Vegeta pondered this; plausible enough, and there was no trace of that foulness, that taint of perverted reality carried by the broo and the demon that killed him. "I seek life--for myself, and death--for my enemy." He smiled wryly. "A simple task--except that no one knows how my enemy might be killed--or even what my enemy IS." 

The old hermit looked thoughtful. "I need to think on this, and you must tell me of your enemy." He picked up the dusty flask and poured a rich, golden liquor into the two cups, offering one to Vegeta. Vegeta took it, and regarded it and the demon hermit; with a smirk, he drank it down. 

The hermit, who had started to sip his, raised an eyebrow, and quickly tossed his down as well. He blinked rapidly, clearing his eyes from the tears that started from them from the potent liquor. "Soma," Maricha said dryly, "is not really intended for chugging." 

Vegeta smirked, unfazed by the potent, magical liquor. "You wished to hear of my enemy, did you? Well..." 

*      *      *      *

On Earth, the day after Bulma's late-night storytelling session, Raditz looked for his brother Goku. Only Bulma and Trunks and Raditz remained with Goku's family; the others had found their way to their respective homes, relieved indeed that everything had turned out well, if a bit astonished at the turn of events. They had been more accepting of Raditz than he could understand, until his brother quietly reminded Raditz that they'd all lived through Vegeta changing from mortal enemy to the strongest of allies--and Vegeta had been far more feared and hated than Raditz had ever been. 

He found Goku along the stream, hunting fish. "Kakarott." 

"Raditz, I wish you would stop calling me that. My name is Goku." Goku stopped searching for giant carp, and turned to face his brother as Raditz dropped down from the sky to land beside him. 

"I'm sorry, Kakarott, but I'm not ready to do that. I don't know if I ever will be." There was a strange, haunted look in the tall Saiyan's eyes. 

"Why not?" 

"Kakarott is the name of the little brother I loved, the name mother and father gave you, on our home world. Our parents, who loved both of us, who died with our world," and Goku could hear the grief in his brother's voice. "Goku is the name of a Saiyan who did not know me, who renounced his family and race, and who killed me." He paused, looking at the distant horizon. "I like Kakarott better." 

Goku sighed. "I can accept your reasons better than I can Vegeta's. Okay, if you would rather call me Kakarott, I won't complain. What brings you out here? Taking up fishing?" Goku smiled. 

"Not yet. Kakarott, I need to know.. how Vegeta died." 

Goku turned serious. "You don't know? But you and he--" 

"Vegeta didn't volunteer any information, and I was so rattled by what he was asking of me that I didn't think to ask." Raditz seemed embarrassed. "I did find out later that something very, very nasty smashed its way through the Hells on its way to Earth, and from things father said, I gathered that same thing killed Prince Vegeta. I don't know the details, and I need to." 

Goku looked sharply at Raditz. "Why?" 

Raditz stared at the horizon again. "Because I need to know what to tell Bulma about my meeting with Vegeta in Hell." 

"Why not tell her the truth?" Goku frowned. 

"Because Vegeta told me more than he intended to, but I need to know what happened to make sense of it. I'm not going to pass on baseless conjecture as fact--and Bulma is going to need to know more than what Vegeta explicitly told me." 

Raditz considered; if Kakarott kept asking questions, Raditz didn't know how he was going to answer him--he was not comfortable with the glimpse he'd gotten into Bulma's grief, again. 

Sometime in the small hours of the morning, Raditz had gotten restless and gone for a walk outside. He was still full of energy from his recent resurrection, and not really in need of sleep. He'd watched the waning crescent moon for a while, reflecting that he'd better pay attention to the phases of Earth's moon or he'd severely embarrass himself some night, when Raditz heard noises coming from the house. Noises like muffled laughter, or someone choking, or someone.. crying. 

Raditz had stalked over to the open window, concerned and curious. The noise was coming from Bulma's room; crying, and low voices. Bulma, weeping, and Chi-chi, talking to her, trying to comfort her. He'd started to turn away--ordinary grief wasn't something he could, or should, protect her from--but then what she was saying had registered. 

"Bulma! After you nearly got killed, you can't be serious about searching for another wish, can you?" 

"Oh, Chi-chi! You heard what Raditz said! Vegeta is in HELL! I can't leave him there!" she sobbed bitterly, her face buried in Chi-chi's soggy shoulder. 

Chi-chi held her friend as she cried. "Bulma.." no comforting words came to her in the face of the stark truth Bulma had uttered. Only.. "Bulma, that wasn't all Raditz said. You said so yourself." 

"I know! I know! It didn't make any sense, but I'm afraid.." she cried some more, "I'm afraid that Vegeta may put himself beyond the reach of any wish, and I'll lose him.. forever. Not just until 'we meet again' on the other side, but FOREVER." Terrible, despairing sobs racked Bulma; Chi-chi held her, but could think of nothing comforting to say. 

Raditz turned away, then, uncomfortable with what he had glimpsed. It burdened him; he knew Bulma would be coming to him for answers soon, answers he wasn't sure of himself. All Raditz knew was that Vegeta would be back, one way or another--but he couldn't say why he knew that. And until he could say why, he couldn't convince Bulma of it, either. 

"Well, Kakarott?" 

Goku was thoughtful. "I learned how it started from Gohan, afterward. You see, I've only recently returned to Earth myself." 

"What??" 

"You didn't know? I guess you don't get much news down there in Hell. I did not survive the fight with Cell two years ago, and I chose to stay in Heaven. I didn't want anyone getting hurt again, trying to bring me back, and if someone else wanted revenge on me, well, they already had it because I was dead, and no one I loved would have had to get hurt again because of me." 

"Oh." Raditz looked thoughtful. "Did you meet mother there?" 

Goku smiled gloriously. "Yes. And you are right--she loves us both." 

"So does father." Raditz smiled. "But about Vegeta..." 

Goku turned serious again. "I made a mistake in assuming that all our enemies were MY enemies. Somehow Gohan and Vegeta made an enemy of something horribly evil and powerful. According to Gohan.." 

Goku explained to Raditz how a monstrous winged, tailed demon had dropped howling out of the sky into the middle of downtown Satan City, where Chi-chi and Bulma had taken Gohan and Trunks shopping for new clothes. At first, it had seemed an evil coincidence that the demon had attacked when they were in town, but then Gohan had attacked the monster. 

It had howled his name in triumph--"GOHAN, SON OF GOKU, DIE!", shrugging off the young Saiyan hero's attacks as it slashed envenomed talons at him. It knew who it was attacking, and it had come for them. It was monstrously tough, and fast, half as large as an Ouzaru, and seemed untiring--only as a Super-Saiyan could Gohan even hurt the thing, and the damage to the city was horrific. City blocks smashed into rubble, people broken and killed, and worst of all, people mutated and twisted into demonic caricatures of themselves by the tainted slime drooling from the demon's jaws. Bulma's desperate call home had summoned Vegeta, and together, the two of them had driven the demon away from the city, away from Bulma and Chi-chi. 

Away from the city, the chilling truth became obvious; the demon had not been driven away from the city, but was pursuing Gohan, and Gohan was tiring. The demon was also tiring, bleeding from injuries gained fighting both Super-Saiyans, but not fast enough--not fast enough at all, as it broke away from them and plunged through the sky to the Capsule Corp compound where Bulma had escaped to. Perhaps it calculated that it could not defeat both the Super-Saiyans and kill its original targets too--whatever the reason, it left Gohan and Vegeta distracted, fighting its creations--the demonic mutants created by the monster's corrupting spit--just long enough for the demon to get to its helpless targets. 

Gohan could not bring himself to kill what were once innocent humans, and was fatally delayed in bringing them down gently. Vegeta had no such compunctions, and ripped brutally through them to pursue the demon. He'd pushed himself to his limits, and beyond, subjecting his body to energies beyond his ability to endure. 

He got there in time. Wracked with agony, Vegeta swept Bulma and his son out of the way of the demon's attack, and dumped everything he had left into one incalculably furious attack. The demon reeled, hurt, power nearly gone--but not destroyed. Vegeta collapsed, utterly spent. Every muscle quivered in agony, seared by the energies that had coursed through him, energies that were completely depleted now. Nothing left for attack, nothing left for defense. Despairing, he watched as the wounded demon found its footing again. 

Then, Goku appeared. Sent back from Heaven to fight an abomination that had no place in either Earth or Hell, flaring golden beyond super-saiyan, Goku stood between the demon and its prey. Gohan, finally free of its creations, joined the battle in time to see his father appear; beyond him, he saw the surprise, and joy, and relief flash across Vegeta's face. He watched Vegeta glance back to where he'd thrown Bulma and Trunks to safety, watched Vegeta's whole body sag in weariness and relief. 

Then it happened. As Goku gathered power for the final blow, the demon's supple, deadly tail had whipped up in a great arc, over and past the mighty Super-Saiyan to plunge down behind him--into Vegeta. Goku severed the exposed tail, and let go his mighty Ka-meha-meha blast into the demon. It disintegrated with a howl of rage, but too late; a horrified Goku saw the two-meter-long poisonous stinger impaling Vegeta from back-to-front. 

There wasn't even time for final farewells; the demon's venom killed Vegeta as Goku dropped to his fallen comrade's side. They later learned how unbelievably potent it was--a hundredth of a drop could kill the mightiest Saiyan warrior in a heartbeat. The stinger impaling Vegeta's heart had delivered far, far more than a drop of the deadly nerve poison. 

"..I removed the stinger telekinetically, and destroyed the thing, and all traces of that venom, but too late. Vegeta was dead. I think that was the hardest part for Bulma, for all of us--that we didn't even have a chance to say goodbye. We buried his body in a private place, up on the mountain behind our house," Goku finished the somber tale. 

*      *      *      *

"..and that is what I fought, and what killed me," Vegeta concluded. "And I know what the others do not--the demon's physical form was only dispersed by Kakarott's attack. It can, and will, reform its physical body when it recovers enough energy--that is why it came after my soul. I need to find a more permanent way to stop it, and I think that to do that, I must know WHY it came after me and my family, and WHAT it is." Vegeta was on his third or fourth glass of Soma, and his usual cold reserve had thawed considerably. 

"I see. I need to think more on the matter, but I suspect that for now, one path will lead you toward both your goals." The hermit capped the bottle of Soma, and put it aside. "In time, you will find that your goals seem to take divergent paths, but there will be a path--roundabout, perhaps--that takes you true to where you must go." 

"And that path is?" 

"Some thought is needed. An enlightening diversion to clear the Soma clouds from one's mind. A game, I think, between you and me--a simple game to entertain an old hermit, a game played by kings." Maricha smiled, and reached into his hut for an ornate wooden box. 

"A game? Feh. I have no interest in games! Tell me my path, and I'll be on my way!" Vegeta's eyebrows arched down, betraying his irritation. 

"Patience, noble prince. If you dislike games--you think them things for children, do you not?--call it 'an intellectual exercise in abstracted warfare'. This 'exercise' was once the perogative of kings and noble warriors alone," the hermit Maricha said, as he opened the box to reveal a black and white checkered eight-by-eight board and two sets of playing pieces--one black, one white. "The moves are simple, and easy to learn, and yet geniuses spend a lifetime truly mastering the 'exercise'." He began to set up the pieces, thirty-two beautifully-carved statuettes of demons and warriors, princes and princesses, heroes and villains. "You see, noble prince, the play is your strategy against your opponent's--there is no element of chance in this 'exercise'. Only your cleverness against mine, Prince Vegeta." 

Vegeta's eyes widened as the hermit's shot struck home. "Is that so? Show me these simple moves, then! I will play your game, and we will find out how clever you really are, demon-hermit-guide Maricha!" 

"The game has had many names through the ages, but modern players call it 'Chess'. This piece, the king, is victory or defeat for you, though he himself has little power..." Maricha explained each of the pieces and their moves, powers and limitations with the same flowery language. He quickly summed up the rules for turns, special moves and victory; Vegeta was an astute listener, and never needed to be told twice. 

Maricha courteously offered Vegeta play of the white side, which goes first and is considered to have a slight advantage thereby; Vegeta declined. He preferred to watch his opponent make the first move before deciding on a response. Their game began. 

At first, Maricha's experience told in his favor; Vegeta frowned as he lost several pawns and a bishop to the old hermit's attacks. He began to see the pattern of the board, the pieces, their spheres of power and movement--like himself, and his various attacks and powers, Vegeta thought. Each piece an attack or a defense, used against his opponent's defenses and attacks, until the vital core, the King, was exposed... 

"You are correct, Maricha. It is an interesting.. game." He raised his eyes from the board to look at Maricha. "Have you thought on my path, yet?" 

"Yes, I have," the old demon-hermit said. "Under the city of Hidden Lankha lies the Treasury of the Rakshasas, wherein is stored all manner of ancient lore and magic. My nephew is King of Hidden Lankha, and will welcome you, O Prince, for sake of thy eldest ancestor. Go to him, and tell him what you have told me, and he will know where to find lore of your enemy, and the path back to the living as well." 

Maricha moved one of his bishops. "Indeed, Hidden Lankha is part of the Middle World, though set apart from it by illusion and myth, and therein lies a problem." 

"What, besides the fact I am dead and down here in Hell?" Vegeta's brows arched downward, betraying his irritation as he reached for a pawn. 

"That is exactly the problem. From our hidden refuges in the Lower World to Hidden Lankha there is a passage, one I can guide you to quite easily--but it is guarded. He who guards it stops any undeserving souls from passing from the Lower World to the Middle World or the Upper World. Only good deeds done in life may shield a man from him.." The hermit moved another pawn to counter Vegeta's move. 

Vegeta reflected. "That.. could be a problem," he said wryly. 

"If you may not pass him with the shield of Dharma, you will simply have to defeat him. He is a demon, a Rakshasa like myself, and not a god; he was defeated once before, which is why he is dead and guarding the other worlds from the Lower World, and not ravening across the Middle World." Maricha's manner seemed less confident than his words as he chose which piece to play this turn. 

By this point in the game, Vegeta began to realize that Maricha was very conservative, almost timid in the way he deployed his pieces. Each piece carefully supporting the other, attacks that were hesitant, risking nothing--and gaining little in return. Vegeta smirked. 

"No one ever won a combat with timidity, Maricha!" Vegeta's queen slashed across the board, capturing the hermit's rook and putting his king in check. 

"That is true," the old hermit-demon allowed. "However, the foolish oft rush boldly into traps. Prince Vegeta, are you familiar with the concept of a 'fork'?" Maricha's knight jumped into position, breaking the check. 

Vegeta stared at the board, heart sinking. On the one hand, his rook was threatened; on the other hand, his remaining bishop. He could only protect one; the other piece was doomed. The vein on his forehead stood out as Vegeta berated himself silently. Vegeta, you idiot! All those 'timid' moves of his--he was setting you up for this trap! His exposed king--a feint, to lure me out of position! If this had been a real combat, I'd be digging myself out of the nearest chunk of landscape, spitting out blood and seriously down on power, if not on the verge of being killed! Hmmm.. Can I salvage this situation? 

Prince Vegeta studied the board, and finally saw the rest of the trap he'd fallen into. No matter which piece he saved, Maricha's next move would threaten his king--and Vegeta saw no way out. Vegeta, you are an even bigger fool than you thought! I've mistaken careful coordination of forces for timidity, and foolishly tried to carry this 'game' on sheer boldness and improvisation--which works fine in the usual total chaos of my battles.. but this is different. Both of us know what the other's capabilities are, and where they are--no surprises, except in how we choose to use them. Against an iron-nerved strategist--one who plans carefully, always adapting to the circumstance and who cannot be panicked into doing something stupid.. it takes more than boldness. I should have known better--I do know better! 

Vegeta played the last, inevitable moves, and watched coldly as Maricha tipped his king over--"Shah Mat!"--the king is dead! 

Vegeta watched as Maricha put the pieces away. The old hermit uncapped the bottle of Soma and poured some more for each of them. Vegeta snarled, "Yes, a very interesting.. game! And, it has cleared more than Soma clouds from my head. I think we shall play again. I insist on it!" His brows arched down with barely suppressed rage, and the vein on his forehead stood out. 

Maricha gulped nervously. "Drink. You must rest first, and one other thing.." He frowned. A great sleepiness came on Vegeta as he drank the last cup of soma, and he seemed to hear Old Maricha as if from a great distance, saying, "You've lost your tail. Let me see if I can fix that," and then he slept... 

_He dreamed that he was a small white monkey, looking up as a flying chariot crested the wall of Lankha. In it rode a powerful black demon prince, and he held a beautiful golden-skinned princess by the hair. The white monkey recognized the princess Sita, and called out to the demon, "What are you doing?"_

_The demon prince answered, "I would do anything to give you pain!" He smiled and raised his sword. A scream cut the air, and the demon cut Sita apart; he struck her left shoulder while he held her hair and cut down across her body, carving her in two along the line of the sacred thread lying across her breast, and half her body fell to the chariot floor._

_The white monkey tried to find Prince Rama; he met Jambavan the Bear and Lakshmana together, and rubbing tears from his eyes he said, "Indrajit killed Sita!"_

_Lakshmana was speechless. Jambavan said, "That ends the war; Rama will die."_

_Out of nowhere, Vibhishana the Rakshasa, tall, black-skinned and blue haired appeared beside them--"Hanuman, what is this?"_

_The white monkey told him, and Vibhishana said, "That was an illusion!"_

_"Oh no, I saw it, it was real!" cried the white monkey._

_"It was false!" Vibhishana grimaced and his face shattered and fell in pieces at his feet. His sapphire-blue eyes broke like glass and were gone. He looked at the white monkey with empty eye-sockets in a horrible scar-covered skull. "Monkey, thus are you blind!"_

_Vibhishana's eyes and face reformed, and he said, "Take my word, it never happened. Do not grieve and please your enemies."_

*      *      *      *

Vegeta started awake. This was impossible! He was dead! The dead do not sleep, nor do they dream. He blinked, and looked around. The glade was empty--no hut, no deer, and no game-playing hermit. Illusion.. Treacherous demon! No--the rakshasa had not played him false, even if the coward had run from the challenge of a second game. He knew, as if Maricha had whispered it to him while he slept, the path to Hidden Lankha from these woods. 

Prince Vegeta rose to his feet, and staggered, off-balance. WHAT THE HELL? Something felt odd. Something felt.. right. Vegeta's eyes widened in amazement as he felt something he'd missed for a very long time. He looked down and over his shoulder.. at his tail! 

It wasn't exactly HIS tail; this new tail was white, except for the very tip, which was dusted black as if he'd dipped the tip in soot. It felt right, though, as he switched it from side to side, and finally curled it around his waist, where it belonged. 

"So, someone thinks I need a tail. Does it work like the old one, I wonder?" Vegeta hesitated to try it, and yet it seemed unwise to wait until he needed it to find out that he might not be able to transform after all. 

On the other hand.. it would save him some travel time across the Dire Wood. Vegeta cupped his hand, and summoned the energies of lunar light, then flung his artificial moon into the non-sky of Hell. 

"I wonder," he thought, tingling with the energy of impending transformation, "can Bulma play chess?" 

*      *      *      *

Two figures watched the great ouzaru wade through the Dire Wood, snapping off black trees and tossing them aside as if they were so many twigs. 

"Can he hope to win?" asked the one to the other, who was Maricha the Rakshasa Hermit. 

"Against any other.. no question. But against your brother's son--who has such power?" Maricha sounded doubtful. 

"He has the power; in all the ages of the world, I have seen only two mightier." The other was more confident. 

"If you say so.." Old Maricha was still doubtful. "But he is too eager to believe every illusion spun about him." 

The tall rakshasa with dark blue hair and clear sapphire-blue eyes smiled wickedly, showing long fangs and sharp teeth. "Perhaps it is as you say, and all hopes and dreams will fall before Indrajit's deadly arrows. Or perhaps he is wiser than you know... Vegeta's fate is his own to make." 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER VI. THE INVISIBLE DEMON


	7. VI. The Invisible Demon

## VI. THE INVISIBLE DEMON

_"Oh Man, I am the demon warrior Indrajit, hard to see._  
 _I fight invisibly, hidden by enchantment from your sight._  
 _I attack behind the wild winds of evil thought;_  
 _I put out many lights left unguarded._  
 _I know you, and good deeds done in life are your only shield when you_  
 _who have died must go alone past me to another world._  
 _You may hide at night from the Sun, but never from your own_  
 _heart--where lives Lord Narayana."_

The challenge echoed from tree to tree of the pale wood, but Prince Vegeta could see no sign of the challenger. The corner of his mouth quirked up in a cold half-smile. 

"Well, he did say he was hard to see," Vegeta wryly told himself. If Maricha had not lied, the path to Hidden Lankha continued beyond the pale wood, beyond the river cutting through it. Of course, if Maricha had lied.. Vegeta smiled evilly, and his thoughts were very dark. 

Vegeta had had to resume normal size after leaving the Dire Wood; his path followed dark caves and tunnels once again. Serpentine things slithered back into darkness as he passed, only to re-gather behind him. Whatever they were, they avoided him, and Vegeta ignored them in turn. 

In truth, though it had been refreshing to become ouzaru once more, Vegeta found that he did not miss it when he became man again. His power had grown so much over the years since he'd lost his tail that the ouzaru's size and rage no longer gave the advantage over his normal form that it once had. It just made him a larger target--though it might be very useful in fighting another gigantic enemy like that damn demon! 

From the caves he'd emerged into another spectral forest--this one of white trees, pale moss, white marble rocks, and pale ashy soil. What was it with these forests? Would the next one be grey, or some bright color? Feh. Somewhere in this wood was supposed to be the guardian Vegeta must pass--and now his voice echoed all around. 

Vegeta lept forward, landing in combat stance with a tree protecting his flank. His eyes flicked from side to side as Vegeta scanned the pale trees, trying to sense something of his opponent. Nothing. If Indrajit was more than a voice, he was indeed hidden and invisible. 

_"Oh Man, your deeds are dark with blood and rage,_  
 _no shield for you, but instead a stain._  
 _Fragile fluttering candle, I am the dark wind extinguishing you!"_

The air slashed him; Vegeta was flung hard against a tree by the blow, snapping the mighty trunk in two. A great cut split his torso armor open, and a thin line of blood stretched across his chest from right shoulder to left hip. Only instinct allowed him to block the second stroke aimed at his neck--there was a chunk! of something hard biting into wood beside him, and the stub of the tree shattered. 

"I can't sense his power at all!" Vegeta dodged without thought and something whipped past his cheek to embed itself into the boulders behind him. Vegeta glanced down; a black steel arrow still quivered, embedded nearly to the fletching in the rock. Thunk! Another one buried itself in Vegeta's shoulder. Just in time, he felt the passage of two more arrows, and dodged them. 

He grimaced in pain. Arrows? This demon was using ARROWS? This was impossible; no saiyan was so weak as to be hurt by simple ballistic projectiles! How could he be hurting? Unless... 

_"Oh Man, feel the bite of my black arrows,_  
 _feel the bite of my power!_  
 _Feel the touch of my blade,_  
 _feel the touch of my hunger!"_

With one sudden motion, Vegeta yanked the black arrow from his shoulder. It vanished as soon as he drew it out. Vegeta's eyes narrowed. So; not a real arrow, but the outward form of the demon's own powerful attack! He dodged, for no better reason than a hunch he'd been standing still too long. 

Steel shrieked again as something tore chunks from the rocks behind him. Too close! And then the return stroke caught him, a brutal punch across Vegeta's face with a taloned hand. Blood ran from three parallel cuts across his cheek--and the saiyan struck back! A flurry of blows traded with something unseen, yet powerful--only one struck home, and that one did not land with any force, yet the invisible demon broke off, retreated beyond Vegeta's reach. 

Black steel arrows sleeted down on Vegeta, and it was his turn to retreat, twisting and turning through the trees that blocked Indrajit's arrows. Every now and then one found its way through, and Vegeta gasped in pain. He paused, and dodged away again; upward he flew, above the trees. He turned, and blasted downwards. 

Nine explosive blasts in a ring about him, searing white trees into black dust, heaving up great clouds of the black ash. All around Vegeta the air was filled with smoke and ash; nothing could be seen more than a few meters away. The warrior prince stopped to check his handiwork. 

He's powerful, I'll give him that, Vegeta thought. Fast, and knows how to fight. Invisible, and hard to hit because of it--a dangerous opponent. Can he sense me in all this smoke? 

_"Oh Man, you think to hide from Indrajit?_  
 _You still cannot hide from your own heart,_  
 _and your black deeds call out to me!"_

The blow caught Vegeta low in the back, and flung him down, towards the ground. Barely he recovered control, and flipped to touch down and bounce aloft again. He can sense me! This is bad. 

Twice, thrice more Vegeta retreated through the trees as Indrajit's steel rain assailed him. He did not always dodge quickly enough, and the wounds were adding up. Twice and thrice Vegeta blasted away the trees surrounding him, but with no sign that he'd hit anything. He paused between attacks, shaking with exertion. Too much! He'd never defeat the demon this way--he needed a plan. 

Baka! The Saiyan prince berated himself. Vegeta, didn't you learn anything from that 'game' of Maricha's? This demon, Indrajit--he has nerve, and he thinks he knows my powers, now. I can guess at his--he is vulnerable to me, if I can land a blow on him, or he wouldn't have run when we mixed it up hand-to-hand. Invisible.. I can't see him to hit him, so I have to know where he is some other way--yes! 

Again, Vegeta dashed high into the air, blasting away the spectral forest in a ring around him. He left a small grove of trees standing in the middle, and darted back into the shelter of the tiny wood just ahead of Indrajit's arrows. A rapid barrage of ki blasts annihilated the incoming arrows, followed by two larger blasts volleyed into the air to explode across the sky. 

He won't be hanging in the sky to shoot at me, now. Vegeta smiled evilly; with these trees, he has to get in close... and once he does, I'll know where he is! 

Everything grew still. Vegeta flitted from tree to tree, listening, waiting for his opponent. Nerves taut, anticipating the attack that was long in coming. So, he thinks he can outwait me? I planned for that, too! 

A sudden burst of speed, another flurry of arrows dodged, another sky blast, and Vegeta once again waited for Indrajit's attack--in another tiny grove of trees left standing from a previous round of blasts, a grove still closer to river and the boundry Indrajit could not let him pass. Vegeta smirked to himself. Yes.. he can either attack me at MY choosing, or he can fail in his duty and let me pass him by. Which will he do? 

Still Indrajit avoided him, save for the occasional arrow. At last, Vegeta looked upon the river--steaming cold water in its bed of white marble pebbles, transparent as glass. Of course; he means to stop me as I cross the river. His mistake. Vegeta dove into the river. 

Black arrows slammed angrily into the river bank behind him, but too late. The Saiyan prince was already at the bottom of the river, easily dodging the arrows falling like pebbles slowly through the water. Now, will he come in after me, or wait until I emerge? Vegeta swam along the river until he came to a deep still pool where white-leaved trees overhung the water on both sides. He turned, facing upward, looking up through the water. No more black arrows fell from the air; the trees crowded too closely together. He's waiting for me to come out; he'll attack me as I emerge on the far bank. Vegeta smiled. 

The surface of the water shimmered above him, and it seemed to Vegeta that he saw as if from the bottom of another stream, the stream near Kakarott's house. On the banks of that stream, Bulma knelt, weeping. Her eyes were red, and her hair dishelved, and face drawn, as from long grief. A dark fear crept into Prince Vegeta's heart as she took off her shoes and jewelry and watch with an odd calmness, a strange fixed determination in her manner as she stood on the bank, a heartbeat from plunging into the water. Death was in her eyes... 

Vegeta surged from the bottom--and stopped abruptly. No! That was not the Bulma he knew! Memory of things said raced through his mind... 

_"I attack behind the wild winds of evil thought.." "I would do anything to give you pain!.." Vibhishana said, "Take my word, it never happened. Do not grieve and please your enemies..."_

INDRAJIT! DAMN YOU! Vegeta raged. The water boiled, and Vegeta exploded from the water blazing with power--Indrajit attacked! 

*      *      *      *

Bulma stretched as she awoke from her nap. Goodness! Three o'clock in the afternoon, and here she was, snoozing! This wasn't a vacation, it was pure decadence, she thought sternly to herself. You're getting lazy, Bulma-girl! Time to get back to work! It's getting high time to go back home. Besides, she reflected, in less than a month it would be time for Trunks to start school. Better if he were settled in back home, first. 

With that thought in mind, she wandered outside, looking for Trunks and Raditz--and stopped to stare at the scene in the front yard. 

"Raditz, what are you doing with my car??" 

Raditz glanced at Bulma; he had the aircar standing on edge, and was hefting it in both hands. "Getting an idea of how massive it is." He set the car down on its skids. "I've been meaning to ask you--how do you get these things into those little capsules?" 

"Ummm.." Bulma blinked. 

"The thing I can't figure out is what do you do with the excess mass? Those capsules do not weigh what this car does, or you couldn't carry them. I thought maybe the car was made of some hyper-strong, super-light material, like saiyan armor, but no, it's got a respectable mass to it. Where does the mass go, or come from?" 

"Ah! That is a very good question, Raditz, and the answer to it was the key to, well, Capsule Corporation and the Brief's family fortune. Not to mention solving the problem of getting a good parking space no matter how busy the mall is!" Bulma smiled, and fairly bounced as she walked, and talked. 

Raditz followed, and listened attentively as Bulma explained the basic theory behind the encapsulatization process, and bounced around the Son homestead, packing. 

"Trunks, get your stuff! We're going home as soon as we pack and say goodbye to everyone! Anyway, after Daddy solved the basic problem of isolating the hyperspatial pocket from its substrate continuum... Raditz, don't you need to pack anything?" 

"Um, not really. Hmmm.. there is one thing. Wait." Raditz went to the small bedroom set aside for him, and dug out his broken armor. Yes, Bulma would definitely be able to make use of it. He emerged from the room carrying the shattered armor. Bulma frowned as Raditz tossed it on the dining room table. 

"I don't think that armor is good for much anymore, Raditz." 

He smirked at her. "You'd be surprised. Ever find that scouter?" Raditz felt around the inside of the armor, just above the large circular hole in the chest piece. "Yep, there it is!" Something clicked, and he pulled out a small packet wrapped in silvery film. 

Bulma raised an eyebrow. "What is that?" She leaned over to look, curious. 

Raditz grinned as he opened the packet, pulling out two strings of small silver disks, each no larger than a quarter. "Still intact, too! Good! They're Saiyan tech manuals, Bulma. Get that scouter, and there's a reader in it, just behind the main control button. Even if you fried the power-detection circuitry, you should be able to take out the reader and hook it to one of your computers." 

"Tech manuals?" Bulma's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Tech manuals for what, exactly?" 

"Well, well, I had that one after all." He flicked a disk. "Scouters, for one thing. Armor repair and maintenance, space pod maintenance AND flight operations, starship and starbase life support systems, all kinds of odd things. Heh." 

Bulma looked like a kid who's just been turned loose in a toy store with an Iridium credit card. She tried to keep her voice steady, and barely restrained herself from snatching up the disks and hugging them to herself. "How come--Why do you have all this?" 

"Had a bad experience once; got stranded on a deserted base with a busted space pod, and no idea how to fix the damn thing! Barely managed to figure out how to bring up the station's life systems before I ran out of air--it was a vacuum moon--and then I had to muck about for manuals and tools to fix the stupid pod. That wouldn't have been so bad, but the large antisocial reason that the station was deserted was trying to eat me at the time. I've been a bit paranoid ever since about trusting my life to equipment I can't fix." 

"Well, I can certainly understand that!" Bulma agreed. She remembered how utterly demoralized she had been when HER spaceship had been destroyed on Namek. Everything she'd brought to Namek except her clothes had eventually been destroyed; she'd never felt so helpless in her life. Without tools, without something to work with, she'd been not much more than a frightened rabbit cowering from terrifying noises and fearsome creatures. She'd hated that feeling more than anything else. And then there was that loathsome frog... 

"Thank you, Raditz," she said thoughtfully. 

He smiled, not saying a word. Damn, but she's beautiful! Brilliant, too. I am starting to understand why Prince Vegeta chose her... 

Or did she choose him? 

*      *      *      *

In the borderlands between life and death, spirit and world, a foulness lurked. It had used the time spent waiting for the last one to return, used it well. The gifts of Chaos were powerful, but ever fickle and random. Some were less useful than others--and It knew what It wanted, what It needed to defeat the Saiyajin. It would disperse Itself and re-manifest, again and again and again, until It shaped Itself as It desired. Time was on Its side; sooner or later, It would suceed, and It cared not for Time--had It not defied Time when It broke violently into Time from the Chaos Before Time? 

One of the gifts of Chaos is heightened intelligence. It manifested Itself with an unexpected, yet welcome keeness of perception, and alacrity of thought. So. The last one had returned to the world; all was ready for the curse to be fulfilled--all except Itself. It was not ready; It had not the necessary combination of gifts yet. Worse, with Its new cunning, It remembered that one of the more backhanded "gifts" of Chaos is diminished intelligence and increased impatience. Woe to It if It should manifest too stupid to know that It was not ready yet, and rushed off to be defeated by the Saiyajin. 

It stayed in the world for a time, curled up dragon-fashion with Its great tail wrapped around Itself, contemplating the problem. At last, a solution presented itself! It arose. 

There was a hideous twisting and tearing of chaotic flesh; with a final howl of pain, It tore a piece of Itself away, a piece that formed itself into a smaller copy of It, perhaps a quarter the size of the original. It instructed Its smaller self, "You are Deputy, because I have made you my deputy self; your task is to keep watch, and use Our keen mind to discern when I am ready to accomplish our task, and by My Name command Me to cease and re-form if I rush to do battle before I am ready." 

Deputy nodded; being of one mind until this moment with his greater self, he knew what the problem was, and what had to be done. Satisfied that the dilemma had been dealt with, the greater being dispersed its material form, and started to re-manifest yet again. 

*      *      *      *

Countless miles away, Goku woke suddenly, gasping. He sat up abruptly, disturbing his wife's sleep. 

"Goku, honey, what is it?" she queried sleepily. 

Cold sweat beaded on Goku's forehead; something hideously evil and powerful was out there! But no--as he reached out with his senses, it vanished again. 

"I don't know. For a moment, I thought--no. Nothing there. It must have been a nightmare. Go back to sleep, Chi-chi." 

She murmured and fell asleep again, leaving the mighty Saiyan awake, wondering if it really had been only a nightmare. 

Miles away, in another direction, his older brother awoke, the awareness of danger prickling along his spine. Raditz threw on some clothes and prowled about, uneasy, his tail lashing from side to side. The young prince and Bulma slept soundly; there was nothing threatening within the Capsule Corp. compound. No, thought Raditz as he looked at the cold uncaring stars, it's far away, whatever it is--and it's waiting. But for what? 

*      *      *      *

In Hell, Vegeta fought his own nightmares... 

Indrajit attacked! The Saiyan blocked the expected attack, and followed up with his own barrage of ki blasts, interweaving and twisting, forcing the invisible demon to dodge in a dance of Vegeta's design. Twice more, Vegeta felt the demon's slashing blows, blows that made him smile as he bled from them. He knew where Indrajit was! 

"HAIIIIIIIII!" Prince Vegeta's hair blazed golden as he answered with one titanic blast! Trees shattered and disintegrated, the river boiled away in a 50-meter stretch, the very rocks softened, melted, and ran like water. In the center of it all, a dark form was silhouetted, frayed, and disintegrated. 

Billowing ash and smoke finally settled, and Vegeta laughed cruelly as he reverted to his normal form. "Farewell, Indrajit! It seems they will need another guardian for this realm!" He turned, and flew over the charred ruins of the remaining wood. 

*      *      *      *

Something nagged at Vegeta's mind as he passed over the last smoking stumps and started to settle before the carved archway leading into the secret caves below Hidden Lankha. He remembered how Maricha had used his exposed king as a feint, to lure him into a trap.. and a dream of illusion.. But he had seen Indrajit's destruction in his blast-- 

"Monkey, thus are you blind!" Vegeta swore at himself, and blazed golden once again. He whirled, ducked, and parried the invisible blade that drove for his heart, the core of his spirit--a blow that would have broken him, leaving Vegeta powerless and empty, drifting forever in Hell. The sheer force of Vegeta's barehanded parry ripped the blade from Indrajit's hand and flung it in shattered pieces across the forest. 

With one hand Vegeta seized the wielder's unseen arm, and thrust his other hand against the invisible demon's chest, cutting loose with a rapid barrage of ki blasts. He felt his enemy's body buck and shudder under the force of his blasts, and finally go limp; Vegeta flung the broken demon to the ground, no longer invisible. He noted without surprise that the archway had vanished as if it had never been there in the first place. 

Indrajit had not been pretty before Vegeta's attacks, but now he was a charred and smoking ruin of a creature. Vegeta marveled; he HAD hit him with his great blast at the river, but the monster had survived--until now. "Tough demon." 

"Indeed," agreed Indrajit. Vegeta turned white with shock. The charred raw skull lifted slightly to regard him with empty eye sockets. "Of all Rakshasa kind, only my father Ravanna was stronger than I. You looked surprised, o man! Have you forgotten where you are? You cannot kill the dead." Indrajit chuckled. 

Prince Vegeta gathered power in one hand. "I can make you wish you could die!" 

Indrajit laughed hollowly. "No need; you have defeated me in combat. I must surrender to you--but answer me this: who are you, O man? Only one human ever defeated me, and that was Lakshmana the brother of Rama, who was Rama's shadow and second self. How could another such human be born--and one so dark in deed--and not be known across all the Three Worlds?" 

Vegeta laughed. "Human?? I am no human, I am a Saiyan warrior; I am the Prince of the Saiyajin!" He uncurled his white tail and switched it from side to side for emphasis. 

Empty sockets turned to regard Vegeta's tail. Indrajit laughed his corpse-laugh. "Fool that I am, not to have known you, Child of Hanuman! I, the invisible warrior, have been blind!" 

"Child of Hanuman? What?? Either you are mad, or-- Demon, explain yourself!" 

Indrajit growled and raised himself on one skeletal arm. "Saiyan, born under a distant star, yet ignorant of your own ancestry! So does the past become illusion, and all histories are lies told by scholarly fools. The blood of the Son of the Wind runs in your veins, and his spirit fires your soul, tailed one! I can see it, taste it in your heart!" 

"That little white monkey? You dare mock me--" 

"Fool. You are blinded by the world's illusions!" The charred demon flung up one arm, and the image of a white monkey with a black-tipped tail appeared. "Thus you think of Hanuman! Even in that form, he is a fearsome warrior--but behold his other form--one I think you will recognize, Saiyan!" 

Indrajit clicked his blackened claws together, and another image replaced that of the small white monkey. Night, and a full moon shone upon the gates of a beautiful city; night, and a monstrous white ouzarou smashed those gates to splinters. Armored black rakshashas swarmed around him, firing arrows and bravely attacking. Vegeta could hear the great ape bellow his rage as he ripped up an iron gatepost bigger than a tree, and fell upon the rakshasa soldiers. Demon blood ran through the streets in an obscene river as the white ouzaru with the black-tipped tail crushed them or plucked them up and tore them to pieces. 

"Eighty-thousand elite rakshasa warriors, the royal guard of Lankha, died that night. Three of our greatest champions challenged him, and died. I stopped his rampage, but at the cost of a magic that cannot be recalled once used, and still he escaped. Yes, THAT little white monkey!" Indrajit laughed mockingly, and dispelled the illusion. 

"You should not have defeated me--thy dark heart should have betrayed you. Now I understand--four golden threads light your darkness. Hold on to them, Prince of the Saiyajin! You have ever been your own worst enemy--beware, lest darkness within betray you to darkness without!" 

Indrajit faded from sight, his final warning echoing in the still air. The way was open. 

*      *      *      *

Thus it was that Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyajin, came to Beautiful Lankha, the hidden city of the Rakshasas. Hidden from the world by illusion and myth, but itself no illusion; the beautiful masterwork of Viswakarman, the Architect of Heaven. Even the meanest houses of commoners were built of gleaming alabaster stone, and how can one describe the palace to eyes that have not seen its glory? A lesser wall made of sixteen colors of rose gold enclosed the palaces of the king. Spired domes of gold, covered in costly gems and starred with diamonds, a mansion only different from the best one in heaven in that it touched the Earth of Lankha. 

Illusion clad the inhabitants of Lankha, the Rakshasas. Some made themselves beautiful beyond mortal ken, glamourous fey whose beauty is a deadly snare, others were maimed and deformed, repulsive and frightful even in their splendid clothes. Some were black, some pink, some ghastly pale; others took the form of fantastic beastmen--gleaming men with golden leopard's heads, impossibly jewelled unicorns, other things less probable.. but no bears, monkeys, nor serpents. The rakshasas disdained to pose as Naga-kind, and found no pleasure in assuming the forms of those who had defeated them so bitterly in the long-ago. 

Over all this beautiful city and her fierce eldritch people ruled the Rakshasa king, Vibishana the Good Demon, youngest brother of Ravana. The tall Rakshasa King stood at a wide window overlooking the city. A wind blew off the ocean, ruffling his dark blue hair and causing his red velvet cloak to flutter behind him. Sapphire-blue eyes set in a face the color of night watched the newest traveller to walk the streets of Lankha. He turned to his guards. 

"He is here; let us go down and welcome our guest." King Vibishana smiled, revealing long fangs and a carnivore's sharp teeth. In spite of, or perhaps because of his fearsome appearance, he was inhumanly handsome. 

The king glanced out the window again, his supernatural sight picking out the ghostly Saiyan prince. "You've come a long way, Prince Vegeta, and your journey is not yet done. On you is the burden of Fate: will it be in vain?" 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER VII. CITY OF ILLUSION


	8. VII. City of Illusion

## VII. CITY OF ILLUSION

Prince Vegeta felt the subtle change even as he passed the archway and left the pale wood. It was an awareness of both himself and the world around him as less substantial, less real. He'd left the underworld, and was once again a ghost in the world of the living. Vegeta scowled; the dead rakshasas had not lied about the path leading to the "Middle World", but he did not like becoming an insubstantial spirit again. At least in the underworld, everything else was spirit, too, and as substantial or insubstantial as himself--and he could deal with things as if they were real. 

In Lankha, Beautiful Lankha, he walked, an invisible shadow of himself. Saiyan eyes gazed on forms both beautiful and horrid, dressed in the garb of all tribes and nations. The rakshasas that disturbed Vegeta the most weren't the snarling beastmen, nor the hideously deformed black dwarfs in skins and feathers--it was the handsome, youthful demon lads wearing jeans and T-shirts with commonplace logos like one might see in any big city of Earth. Vegeta gasped involuntarily the first time a car marked with the unmistakable Capsule Corp. logo nosed through the crowd on a main avenue. These creatures traded with the outer world--how many of them were out there, on Earth, and who were they? Cloaked in illusion, masters of deception, who would ever know? 

It slowly dawned on Vegeta that the rakshasas and their cars, bicycles, and rickshaws had not run into him, or through him yet--and as he looked more closely at passers-by, he noticed many curious looks in his direction. Subtle; none were so rude or so bold as to stare directly at him, but THEY SAW HIM! The hair on the back of his neck prickled; Vegeta was getting very tired of Rakshasa deceptions. He was not a pawn to be played in someone else's chess game! Anger boiled not far beneath the surface; he desperately wanted a definite enemy to fight. 

Vegeta turned, snarling, with the intent of flying to the spired palace that dominated the city--and stopped. A fantastic chariot--silver-chased, and pulled by two growling tigers--had pulled up before him. Four powerfully-built Rakshasa guards dismounted and knelt before him. A proud young Rakshasa dressed in an ornate bejewelled silk coat, turban, and pants also dismounted from the chariot and bowed to him. Another Rakshasa, an exquisitely beautiful demon-maiden with brilliant orange hair and black skin remained in the chariot. 

"Prince Vegeta of the Saiyajin? I am Prince Khara of Lankha, and this is my sister Princess Sinhika; my father the king has anxiously awaited your arrival, and invites you to be his guest. I am at your service, noble prince." The emerald-eyed prince bowed again, and indicated the tiger chariot with one white-gloved hand. 

*      *      *      *

In downtown Satan City, a perfectly ordinary human being strode down the street, seething with anger. Well, actually, Sean Nixon was far from perfect, and not exactly ordinary, but he was human, and he was still angry. He viciously kicked a discarded can out of his path as he hurried, black trench coat flapping around his legs. 

"Man, I cannot believe this!" he ranted to the pink-haired girl beside him. "First, this big ugly demon-thing appears out of nowhere and destroys the best club in the city, not to mention turning my boss into a monster, but somehow spares my fleabag apartment, and now, just as I've gotten things put back together from that catastrophe, I get an eviction notice! HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO PAY RENT WHEN SOME UGLY FUNKY-ASS MONSTER WASTED MY JOB? Then I had to redo all my design work FROM SCRATCH! How was I supposed to know that one of those martial artist weirdos would destroy the bank vaults where the offsite backups were 'safely' stored? It took so long, we would have lost the friggin' website contract even if my boss hadn't been turned into some gray drooling thing with tentacles! Man, this just friggin' sucks!" Sean waved the offending form letter in the air for emphasis, and then threw it on the ground and stomped on it a few times. 

"Calm down, Sean. Next time, more beer, less coffee, eh?" The pink-haired girl in the very short black miniskirt (and black leather blouse and black fishnet hose and black spike heels) picked up the offending letter, which bore repeated signs of Sean's wrath in the form of Doc Martens treadmarks all over it. She handed it back to him with a wry smile. 

He took it back in a long-nailed (painted dark purple) hand. "I suppose I better keep this for my records, especially if I want to contest it." Sean sighed. "Damn it! If I can't earn a living, I have to go back home.. to Nebraska.. to my parents." The gloom in his voice made it clear he thought that a fate comparable to a painful death at the hands of a berserk demon. 

Pomona giggled. "You'd miss good old Satan City that much?" 

"I'd miss YOU. And that's another thing," Sean started off on another rant, "are we the only ones who can see what a sleazeball fraud Mr. Satan is? I can't believe the dumb jerks around here actually RENAMED THE CITY after him! I didn't see HIM out fighting that demon a few months ago, did you? Of course, all the Shiny Happy People around here think Mr. Satan saved their butts, just because he got on TV and said so." Sean hawked and spit into a sewer grate. 

Pomona wrinkled her nose. "I hear you, but could you find some less disgusting way to express your contempt?" 

"Well, if I were one of those aforementioned martial artists, I'd fight in the next Tenka'ichi Budokai, beat the crap out of him, and THEN spit on him." 

"Cute, Sean. You sure have a way of making a statement, I'll give you that." 

"Think of it as performance art, with a political subtext." 

Pomona rolled her eyes theatrically. "I don't know why you don't go back to art, anyway. You were good, very good; with a few pieces on exhibition, you'd have no trouble getting commissions and making some real money!" Pomona frowned. 

Sean winced as the sun came out from behind a cloud. He pulled a pair of mirrorshades from an inside coat pocket and donned them. Coal-black hair drooped into his eyes. "Oh, I was good--too good. Let's not go there, okay." He sounded suddenly old and tired. 

Pomona shrugged. "Whatever. Look, if you need a job, why not just apply for another job? I know you liked the old one, but just until you get on your feet, ya know?" 

"Underpaid thralls are a dime-a-dozen around here; a foreigner like me...Nah. Besides, do I look like the suit-and-tie salaryman type?" Sean grinned rakishly at her, black fedora cocked at an angle, black trench coat open to reveal black lace-frilled shirt and black jeans. 

"Drawing pretty pictures for a web design house isn't the only thing you know how to do, my pretty goth boi!" Pomona said significantly. 

"Hmmm.. you've got a point there." He pulled out a clove cigarette and lit it. "I wonder who in this city might need a first-class hacker?" Sean "VirtualBlack" Nixon speculated. 

*      *      *      *

Several hours later, Sean leaned back in his computer chair and stretched. "That does it," he said to himself. "Got everything set up and ready to go." He lit another clove, and shook his head. "Some of these guys need a security expert really bad.. Doesn't anybody in this town keep up with the latest vulnerabilities and hacks? Well, tomorrow is soon enough to start sending out my 'resume'." 

"Makoto, close 'VirtualBlack'," he commanded his computer. "Makoto, open 'Dreams'." Sean sat back to stare at the list of files, trembling slightly. He'd deliberately misled Pomona into thinking he'd given up art entirely. He hadn't, of course--he could no more stop drawing than he could stop breathing; it was in his soul. 

Now the computer screen was his canvas, and Sean painted with pixels instead of acrylics. He tried to convince himself it was safe that way. They were just files, strings of 1s and 0s on a disk, not actual images. He could dispose of them in an instant, with the flick of a key, instead of slashing and burning them, if they started to.. change. When he wasn't viewing them, they didn't exist as pictures--no canvas surface providing a window or a door.. He hoped it was safe. He really did. 

"Makoto, display 'Game of Demon Kings.'" The image he'd been working on, the image that he'd dreamed of, the image he couldn't get out of his head, sprang into being on his screen. 

It was a still image of two chess players in an opulent room whose decor and architecture suggested Persia or India. Beyond them, an tall window overlooked the sea. The players drew the eye immediately; one was a tall, handsome, black-skinned demon with sharp claws and fangs, dressed in costly embroidered, bejewelled tunic and trousers, wearing a turban with a great ruby pin. Long, dark blue hair spilled out from below his turban; his eyes were sapphire blue and keenly regarding the marble chessboard, as one clawed hand reached out to touch a piece. 

The other player was less obviously demonic, but not less remarkable; a short, well-muscled man with a crest of upswept black hair, and too-wide eyes rested his chin on a white-gloved hand as he studied the board, frowning. He wore some form of high-tech white armor over a dark bodysuit, and a red cape tossed back over his chair. A badge of some kind was engraved in red on the right breast of his armor, something rather like a pitchfork crossed with an anchor. This other player looked almost human--until you noticed the eyes were too large and the eyebrows arched odddly, and the unlikely hair.. and the white-furred tail wrapped around his waist. There was something in his expression, a relentless ferocity, that scared Sean, and he had painted it himself! 

Sean studied the picture. No, it didn't really need anymore touching up, but.. had he painted the chess pieces in those positions? He didn't think so, but he wasn't a chess player, and the patterns had no special significance to remember. Sean wiped the sweat from his brow; man, this apartment was hot all of a sudden! 

Please, God, don't let it happen again! he prayed silently. "Makoto, close picture. Makoto, start new picture." Time to work on something else, yeah, that was it. 

*      *      *      *

"That's it!" Bulma yelped with excitement, staring at the display. "NOW I see how that power detection circuit goes together!" She frowned at the translated tech manual on her computer. "Somebody should have put a damping filter on the gain, though. I see why the silly things blow up all the time." 

Raditz looked rather red-eyed and tired; they'd been working on translating Bulma's new tech manuals almost non-stop since she'd returned to Capsule Corp grounds, with breaks for odd things like sleep and food. 

"Bardock--my father--mentioned that once; he intended to revise the design. There was some issue with sensitivity, though, that made it complicated. And then Frieza killed him, and blew the planet up, so it didn't get done..." Raditz trailed off. He shook himself. "I think I'm going to cut back on the translation work a bit-- borrow that gravity chamber of Vegeta's and work on my own training in the mornings. I'll start getting lazy if I just park my tail in front of a computer all day." 

"Um, okay." Bulma looked a bit subdued; somehow she'd managed to step into painful territory. She sighed; that had happened with Vegeta sometimes, too. She brightened up. "We're making good progress though--besides revisions to the scouter design, the armor shouldn't be too hard to duplicate, either--if my materials engineers can work out that 'tight coil' long-chain polymer you guys used to make it so elastic. Elegant--it responds to pressure from one direction, the inside, by stretching, and pressure from the other direction, the outside, by contracting and becoming more rigid." 

"Will I have new armor soon?" He watched her out from under half-closed eyelids. 

"Raditz! Is that ALL you think about? That, and your scouter? Have a little patience!" Bulma stood, yawned and stretched, unaware of Raditz's frank and admiring gaze. 

No, that's not *all* I think about. I should spend a lot less time alone with you, though. You're entirely too pleasant to look at, and have courage, and wit and such a fascinating personality--and you belong to my prince! Raditz, remember that! 

She forgets I am not Kakarott, and that Vegeta is not here. Not consciously, but in her habits, her manners--my brother is a good friend, and has never been anything more, it seems--and never thought of being anything more to her. She is relaxed around him, even careless, and accepts me as Kakarott's brother--and is as careless with me as she is with Kakarott. Fool woman! I am NOT my brother; you should not trust me anymore than you do other men--I have seen how guarded you are with them. 

I have to protect her from herself, and from myself. *Sigh* Vegeta, why did you do this to me?? 

*      *      *      *

Vegeta at that moment was not in the least concerned with what he had done or not done to Raditz. At that moment, Prince Vegeta regarded his royal host with some bemusement. These Rakshasa continually amazed him; infuriating him nearly to violence with their games of illusion, and then turning about and treating him like the prince he was, all deference and courtesy. Fawning flattery he would have thought it, save that he could sense the power smouldering behind King Vibishana's eyes, and knew that as a ghost, he, Vegeta, was little threat to the living. Their courtesy was not that of fear, but genuine deference to his rank and name. 

A remarkable creature, this Rakshasa king. He was monarch of a race of fierce proud warriors, night-hunting, man-eating demons, who reminded the Saiyan of his own people. The Rakshasas also used ki--they flew, and shaped illusions, and used their own power to enhance mundane weapons to supernatural sharpness and toughness--an odd use of ki that Vegeta had never encountered before. And their ability to hide their own power, in fact their whole existance, astounded him. To fight invisibly--what an advantage! 

Still, he was not here to admire the Rakshasas' talents. They had expected him, welcomed him for reasons that seemed obscure to Vegeta--that nonsense about him being a descendant of Hanuman, who was apparently a close friend of King Vibishana's. Preposterous on the face of it, and yet.. Prince Vegeta glanced at the new white tail he had so strangely acquired, and remembered the image of the white ouzaru. Enough of that! Let them believe whatever nonsense they chose to, as long as it made them so cooperative! Cooperative.. to a point. 

"Even from here I can sense it," Vegeta growled, looking out the tall window at the ocean. "It's out there, half in the spirit world, half in the real world, gathering its damned power--sooner or later, it will return." He turned from the window to glare at the tall sapphire-eyed king. "That.. thing is as much your enemy as mine, Vibishana! Prince Khara told me of the Rakshasa.. 'dharma'." He pronounced the unfamiliar word with a strange accent. 

King Vibishana nodded. "It is the dharma of the Rakshasa to protect all that is holy to the Creator from that which would despoil and unmake it. By tradition, we have protected the temples and holy places, but the duty goes deeper than that." Dark blue locks stirred in the breeze as the king lowered his voice, pensive. "I know not what brought this doom upon you and your lineage, but it is not of our doing, or of our dharma. We remain apart." 

Prince Vegeta's eyes widened, and his brows lowered with anger. This was the sticking point that infuriated him--the Rakshasa king would give Vegeta anything he wanted--in Lankha. Knowledge, magic, a wicked game of chess.. but he refused to stir outside the hidden city. "Don't be a fool, Vibishana! That thing's nature is destruction! It's not hungry, or angry or vengeful--it just wants to make things.. not be! If that thing runs free, it will not stop with my family--it will destroy everything you care about, and you will be too late and too weak to stop it! Destroy that filth while it is weak!" 

Sapphire eyes regarded Prince Vegeta keenly. King Vibishana nodded gravely. "I would be a fool were I to ignore wisdom, even if the specifics please me not. The demon is rightfully yours--thy enmity is personal and great; for myself, I still believe the thing a doom against thyself and thy lineage alone, which will return to whatever hell it came from when it is done with thee. But, should you fall, and fate proves me wrong, I will stand against it." 

Finally! At least he concedes that much. "You'd have to stand in line behind Kakarott and his son..." Prince Vegeta said wryly. He scowled. "More useful would be an alliance in advance. Your power is a fraction of theirs; if they fall after me, what could you do but die?" 

"That I cannot do; I am immortal, and cannot be slain." King Vibishana smiled, somewhat amused. 

"Immortal! That could be useful!." Prince Vegeta regarded the other monarch thoughtfully. "I once intended to wish for immortality..." 

"Obviously, you did not." 

"At the time, I was.. interrupted." Prince Vegeta said somewhat sourly, remembering the terrible fight with Kakarott when he came to Earth for the dragonballs, and the missed third wish on Namek. "Later, I knew better.. What joy is there in fighting, if there is no risk to it?" 

King Vibishana smiled sadly. "The dharma of a king is graver still than that of a warrior. I must do that which is right, for my people and for their dharma, not that which pleases myself alone." He looked into the distant horizon. "Long ago, I would have followed Rama to heaven, but my dharma, my duty, is here. So long as this fair blue world exists, and we Rakshasa live to protect that which is hallowed, I cannot die." 

Ghost though he was, Prince Vegeta shivered. I am prince.. but I was never king. I am the heir, and if any had survived to crown me, I would have been king--and I would have borne that burden! Is that the burden you bore, father? The burden of doing what was best for the Saiyajin, no matter how much pain it cost you? And still bear--I have seen you in Hell! Damned Saiyajin.. still your people. Even though you were mortal, and died, you are still their king, in Hell. 

I once blamed myself for Vegetasai's destruction, knowing that you attacked Frieza over me. If you had not.. cared about me, Frieza would not have killed you, and followed your regicide with Vegetasai's genocide. So I believed, and I refused to allow anyone to so care about me again. I destroyed a world that dared to call me a hero! 

Later, I blamed you for the death of our world--if you had not been weak in your affection for me, you would have not attacked Frieza and doomed us all. I thought you a fool who had thrown away his kingdom and his people for the sake of one child--for purely personal desires. I hated you for your weakness and folly, and refused to allow myself any such weakness. 

Only after I died on Namek and met you again did I finally understand. Frieza decided our doom long before you challenged him over me--and even if he had not.. It was not just for personal desire that you challenged Frieza; you had to challenge that monster, for how could you be king, how could you rule over and protect our people if you could not even protect your own child from our enemies? It was not weakness that sent you against Frieza; it was strength! 

A weak king would have yielded his authority to save his life, a weak man would have sacrificed his child to save himself! You were strong, stronger than I could know. 

Prince Vegeta returned his attention to King Vibishana. I think I have the measure of this man.. demon.. whatever, now. "You want to join in this fight, don't you?" 

"With all my heart!" Vibishana's fierce sapphire gaze burned into Vegeta's. "Were it my pleasure alone, I would come against this abomination with the all the host of the Rakshasas! But it is not my pleasure alone, and it is my people's safety and the fulfillment of our ancient duty that I must weigh against my own desire in this." 

Vegeta's lip curled up in that devilish smirk. "As you say.. the demon is mine! I will deal with that monster--but his host infests the upper hells, and are as vile as the demon himself." Prince Vegeta looked out across the sea for long moments, as King Vibishana waited for him to continue. "When the demon returns to Earth.." 

"You expect his host to follow." It was a statement, not a question. 

"Yes." His eyes narrowed as he looked at the Rakshasa King. 

The corner of Vibishana's mouth quirked very slightly into the ghost of a smile. He nodded. "Yes," he answered the unvoiced question. 

The noble rakshasa regarded Prince Vegeta. "Has the beast a name, or you some clue to its true nature?" 

"It wasn't polite enough to introduce itself, although it seemed to know some of _our_ names." Vegeta brooded, seated on the sill of the window, staring across the sea at those he could not see, save in his heart. He remembered the demon's malevolent obsession with Gohan and Bulma and even young Trunks. 

They must be warned--and I cannot warn them! Kakarott knows NOTHING of this--he thinks the thing destroyed, and everyone is safe and sound, thanks to my 'noble sacrifice' and his final attack! The fool! If she dies of HIS complacency, I will not forgive! 

Or.. can I warn them? Yes! There just might be a way! 

"Two things, King Vibishana." Prince Vegeta regarded the rakshasa thoughtfully, dark eyes unblinking. "You hid the way to Lankha behind illusion, did you not? That is why the demon passed you by, and smashed through Lower Hell instead!" 

The tall rakshasa smiled ever so slightly. "Yes, I did." He regarded Prince Vegeta quizzically. "Why?" 

Vegeta laughed triumphantly. "HE CAN'T SEE THROUGH YOUR ILLUSIONS!" He spun to glare at the sea's distant horizon. "If I can sense him, he almost certainly can sense me, except for Lankha's--your--illusions. I will need to.. borrow a few of them for a bit." 

He turned back to face King Vibishana. "As for the other..." Vegeta thought a bit, remembering a cryptic phrase Raditz used: "further from the mortal world than anything short of Chaos itself" -- and the broo, with their exultant hate and self-knowledge that they were Chaotics. 

"What is Chaos?" 

*      *      *      *

Rainbow-colored mud bubbled desultorily in an ancient dump, now inundated by the wandering river that had once been channeled by the built-up banks of an eastern city. That had been before the Saiyajin came, before a bored Nappa had obliterated a thriving metropolis in the blink of an eye. Now only ruins remained at the edge of a great crater; only crows and rats dwelled where people once lived. 

No, not only crows and rats dwelled there. In the darkness, mud heaved and surged as something formed itself from toxin and filth. Deputy regarded his greater self with a critical eye; no. It was not yet ready. The mud subsided as something dispersed itself scarcely before it had finished forming. 

From the instant of separation, Deputy had diverged from his greater self. Though he felt all the imperatives laid on his greater self, Deputy sought his own path to fulfill them. He did not wait on his greater self. Deputy plotted. 

The scheme unfolded. As his greater self had done before, Deputy wrenched himself apart. When he was done, three beings stood where one had been before: Deputy, and two smaller others. 

Deputy, himself the size of a small house, turned to the smallest, a slender, lithe demon, like a small dinosaur, scarce bigger than a man, whose hide rippled and changed colors at whim. "You are Scout; seek our victims, find them, learn about them and return to me. Do not fight them, do not even let them know you exist, but return to me with knowledge! Now, go!" 

The raptor-like demon nodded its horned head once, unfurled slender, swift wings, and darted away into the sky. 

The other demon was wingless, and half again as tall as a man. Corded muscles bulged its scaly, shadowy, hide; a wide mouth filled with far too many sharp teeth grinned perpetually. Except for the dull grey claws, and lurid red eyes, the rest of it was blacker than black, the very stuff of darkness. 

"You are Enforcer; gather our worshippers, bring them to me, let them serve us! They have forgotten us, but you will remind them. I say to you, avoid our victims, fight them not, do not even let them know you exist--their doom is mine to devise. Now, go!" 

The shadow demon nodded, and disappeared into the night. Deputy, who was the very image in miniature of that one version of his greater self, sank back into the mud and filth that was his hiding place. His greater self would take the Saiyajin warriors--but Deputy would take the weak ones, the woman and the children. He giggled to himself; "'woe and grief, such that they will beg for death and curse the day of their birth'." He looked forward to the fun. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER VIII. GHOST PRINCE


	9. VIII. The Ghost Prince

## VIII. GHOST PRINCE

"Brother mine, you may be my elder, but you are not the king!" Princess Sinhika the Rakshasa bared delicate fangs at her brother, Prince Khara. She was dressed in jeans and cotton blouse, for travelling, all her Lankha finery put away. Amber cat-eyes flashed angrily as she defied her brother. "I will NOT stay home safe in Lankha while such things are afoot--besides, I have been out in the world before. Where do you think I got that?" she pointed to the framed baccalaureate degree hanging on her dayroom wall. 

"This isn't the twentieth century anymore, and you are not planning a trip to California, dear sister! The world is not so safe for our kind as it once was, and.." 

"It's not the sixteenth century, either! I swear, you'd have me in veils in proper purdah if you could!" The orange-haired rakshasa girl grumbled under her breath something about "Neanderthals". 

Prince Khara frowned; sometimes his sister's manners were atrocious. "If I were the king, I wouldn't have let you go to college in California, either--you've been so.. common ever since!" 

"COMMON! THAT DOES IT! GET YOUR SNOBBISH ROYAL BUTT THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOMS, YOU--YOU MALE CHAUVINIST PIG!" Sinhika's beautiful dark face changed into something hideous and scaly with snakes for hair. 

Prince Khara got the hell out, followed by a flung chair -- solid mahogany. He didn't run, but hurried down the hall as fast as dignity would permit. 

"AND STAY OUT!" Princess Sinhika stomped into the hall and screamed after her departing brother, face back to normal. 

"Well, well. Quite the show," commented Prince Vegeta, his tone faintly mocking. "You remind me of someone I know." 

"Eeep!" Sinhika jumped and whirled. Her father's guest, the ghost prince, watched her, amused. Apparently he had been coming down the hall from the other direction when she and Khara had their.. difference of opinion. 

Her ebony face flushed with embarassment. "Umm, it's not as bad as it seems. We, um, argue a lot--brother-sister thing, you know?" Oh gods, don't let him have heard all of it! If he tells father, I'm sunk! 

His eyes flicked in the direction of her room, where the loaded backpack was plainly visible. "Going somewhere?" 

"Um, no, just a short daytrip into the mountains--visiting the old temples," Sinhika lied. 

Prince Vegeta smirked. "Have.. fun." With that, he continued down the hall. 

Sinhika slumped against the doorframe in relief. Whew! I think he believed me! That guy gives me the creeps--and not just because he's dead. Time to get out of here--before dad finds out. He hasn't explictly forbidden me to leave Lankha, but once Khara tells him my plans, he will! At least my trip _starts_ in the mountains like I told Prince Vegeta... I just didn't mention the part where I fly down to Colombo and catch a plane to my destination. 

Far down the hall, Prince Vegeta smirked to himself. Really, the princess shouldn't tell lies like that--not when she's left her passport and a Satan City guidebook lying next to her open backpack. It's just too obvious. 

*      *      *      *

Vegeta spent several weeks in the city of the Rakshasas, learning what there was to learn. Among the hidden treasures and lore of the Rakshasas, Prince Vegeta found paths to both his goals--and as old Maricha had predicted, they diverged in opposite directions. To be returned to life, his spirit had to return to Earth; to discover the secret of his enemy, he had to pursue it to its origins, to the very edge of Chaos, beyond the bounds of Time. 

Chaos--to the Rakshasa, a philosophical concept: the formless void before creation, before time, out of which the universe was formed. Not nothingness, but rather formlessness, complete randomness, all possibilities, and no actuality. In the Underworld, which was itself purely philosophical to the living, and hard reality to the dead, Chaos was more than philosophical. As best he could grasp it, Chaos was what lay 'outside' the universe, 'outside' time, if one could conceive of such a thing--or if one could reach such a place. 

What neither he nor Vibishana could believe was that something like life could exist in Chaos. And yet.. one common thread linked the broo, the demon, and the demon's mutant creations. All of them were mutated and corrupted; changed randomly from the true in some fashion. 

Prince Vegeta brooded long in thought. I MUST learn more. I do not yet know the thing's secrets--I'm not ready to fight it yet. It will not be easy pass by it and warn them--it lurks too close to this world; if it were not for Rakshasa illusions hiding Lankha, it would know I am here, and it WOULD come looking for me! Even were I returned to life, I am not ready! Damn this! At least when Kakarrot was dead the first time, he knew he had a year to prepare for my arrival--but I know no such thing. That demon could return to Earth at any time, and I would be too late! 

He arose from his brooding. I know what I have to do, and the path I must follow. "King Vibishana! It is time." 

*      *      *      *

"Chi-chi! Ox King! This is a wonderful surprise!" Bulma greeted her friends as they piled out of the aircar, Chi-chi carrying Goten. Goku and Gohan had already arrived, flying ahead. 

Goku grinned. "I was coming over to train Trunks, and Goten wouldn't be left behind, and Chi-chi's been worrying about how you were doing, so we just brought the whole gang!" 

"Yoo-hoo! Goku, Gohan! I've got cold drinks for everyone!" Mrs. Briefs came out carrying a tray of tall iced drinks. 

"Mom! You knew!" Bulma jokingly accused. She looked around. "Speaking of Trunks, where'd he get to? I thought he'd be out here..." 

"Yes, dear. Chi-chi called ahead." She smiled at her daughter. "I sent Trunks to tell Raditz that Goku was here." 

"Nunk Rats?" Goten asked. "Where Nunk Rats?" 

"Right here, kid," Raditz announced as he came around the corner. Trunks ran to keep up with the tall Saiyan. 

"Goten stop squirming---oh!" Chi-chi exclaimed as her youngest wriggled free of her grasp and jumped to the ground, only to run over to his uncle and start climbing his hair. 

Raditz suddenly gasped in pain; Goten, in his determined climb, had put a foot firmly on his tail. Eyes watering from the pain, Raditz seized Goten by his hair and held him at arm's length, bouncing him a bit. 

"HEY! HAIR HURTS!" 

Raditz pulled him closer and held him nose-to-nose. "Tail hurts, kid!" he growled. "Do NOT step on, swing from, pull on, bite or mess with my tail! Got that?" He uncurled his long tail and gently wrapped it around Goten's waist, taking some of the weight off of the child's hair. 

"Oops. Sorry." Goten tried making a very sad and pathetic face. 

"Yeah, I bet. Tell you what, kid--everytime you hurt my tail, I hang you by your hair for a while. Sound fair to you?" 

Goten brightened up. "Fair!" 

Raditz set him down, and Chi-chi promptly snatched Goten up and glared at Raditz with an aggrieved look. She opened her mouth to say something-- 

"Ah, don't yell at my brother," Goku interrupted cheerily. "He went easy on Goten. I remember how much it hurt when my tail got crunched--if he'd REALLY been fair, he'd have grabbed him by the tender spot on the other end!" 

Gohan winced; he didn't remember how much tails hurt--he'd never had his bruised before it was removed for good, but he sure knew about the other tender spot! 

Chi-chi glared murderously at her husband, her son, and her brother-in-law, and marched inside without a word--or started to. Once again, with surprising strength and agility, Goten wriggled free and jumped down to assault his uncle's hair. This time, he was very careful not to step on Raditz's tail. 

"Umm, Goku-san?" Trunks piped up. "Is it time to train now, or.." 

"Yes, that's what I came for," Goku smiled. "Raditz, keep an eye on that little wild man for me, okay?" 

"Maybe we sit in and watch, hmmm?" Raditz didn't bother holding Goten; the child was sitting on his shoulder and kept his balance. 

"Good idea. He'll be three next week; Gohan's going to start him on the basics in about six months; I'll be working with Trunks and Gohan on their advanced training." 

"Kakarott, about that advanced training..." Raditz hesitated, seeming almost embarassed. 

Goku gave his brother a knowing look. "Ah, you want to train too, don't you?" 

Raditz flushed slightly. "The first time I came to Earth, I called you ill-trained. That was far from the stupidest thing I said back then, but it wasn't one of the few smart things I said, either. You and Piccolo were much weaker than I, yet you k--defeated me. You are right--power isn't everything." 

Goku looked his brother over. "I think that's a yes. Come on, then. We were going to use Vegeta's gravity room, okay?" 

"Okay!" 

On the roof of a nearby building, flattened down and camouflaged, the perfect chamaeleon, Scout, watched and listened and learned. 

*      *      *      *

"Mr. Hiregumi," Bulma addressed the Capsule Corp. Chief of Security, "I called you to my office to brief you privately on a new.. employee." 

"That would be the long-haired gentleman I've seen around the grounds?" 

Bulma nodded. "Raditz is.. one of my late husband's people, and his sworn vassal." Yes, the simple truth was the best way to handle Hiregumi--he was such a traditionalist. 

"Go on," the security chief's face was impassive. 

"He had sworn an oath to Prince Vegeta to protect Trunks and myself with his life, until his prince releases him from that duty." Bulma paused, looking at Mr. Hiregumi. 

His face brightened perceptibly. "Ah! I am glad you told me of this, madam. That explains much. I would not stand in the way of such a duty; indeed, I must know how I may smooth the way." 

Bulma smiled; this was going very well indeed. "Raditz needs to be brought up to speed on our security operations and procedures, and--" she leaned forward, "most especially local laws!" She sat back, and looked a bit apologetic. "If you remember the Prince..." 

"Ah, yes." Mr. Hiregumi was always discrete. "I assume that the noble prince had broad judicial authority in his own country--he reminded me of a daimyo of old Japan in his treatment of transgressors." 

"That," Bulma noted, "is very perceptive." She rose from behind her desk. "Also, if Raditz..", she wrinkled her brow--how do I phrase this? "..ever thinks there's trouble on the way, listen to him, and do what he says! He's very capable, in his own way." 

"Hai! I shall keep that in mind, madam." He bowed, and departed; the interview was over. 

Bulma sighed as the door closed behind Mr. Hiregumi. She'd manage to talk about Vegeta for five minutes without bursting into tears; but oh, how her heart ached! It was a lump in her throat, it was a dreadful hollow rip in her soul. She rested her head on her hands, tears trickling down her face now. 

"Can't do this now, got to be cheerful for Mom and Goku and the kids!" she told herself fiercely. "I'll just wipe my face and read through my business e-mail--that's just the thing to calm me down. If it doesn't put me completely to sleep." 

Unfortunately, it didn't calm her down. Bulma's executive assistant came running at her scream of outrage (Bulma didn't believe in calling her female secretary a 'secretary'; too many sexist, demeaning connotations for a valuable, skilled job. Why was it that 'secretary' was a high-ranking title for men, and so looked-down-on for women?). 

"WHO DOES THIS VIRTUAL-BLACK TWERP THINK HE IS?? HOW DARE HE MESS WITH MY COMPUTER SYSTEMS!!" Bulma was red and steaming. "Ooooh! And he has the nerve--THE NERVE!!--to tell me he can 'fix' my problems! If I PAY him, of course! The little twerp! When I find out who he is...!" 

Bulma snarled, "Well, I don't need to be a Saiyan warrior to deal with little twit hackers! You just made a big mistake, creep, messing with Bulma in her own territory!" 

*      *      *      *

Goku awoke suddenly. For a second he was disoriented; this wasn't his room! But Chi-chi was curled up next to him as if they were at home.. Then he remembered that they'd decided to spend the night at Capsule Corp after training hard all day and eating the huge supper Bulma's mom had prepared--they'd finished late, and neither Chi-chi nor Gohan had been up to driving home safely. 

But what woke him? He calmed himself, and listened, feeling the world around him. There was something.. out.. there. Ever so softly, he got out of the bed, careful not to disturb Chi-chi, and padded to the window. 

A half-moon shone down; it was still early in the night. Goku idly wondered how many times Kami had replaced the orb.. and dismissed the thought as he sensed a presence close at hand. What was this? He turned his head toward the one; distant, powerful, evil.. and gone again. It was that dark presence that had woken him from sleep weeks ago! What was it? It never stayed around long enough for him to truly find it, but it made Goku very uneasy. 

Closer to hand.. something not-quite-there, and a certain familiarity to it that raised the hairs on the back of Goku's neck. Could it be? He stepped outside the room, so as not to disturb Chi-chi. 

"Vegeta?" Goku asked hesitantly. 

"Very good, Kakarott! I didn't expect you to notice me so easily!" Vegeta's voice echoed in Goku's mind. 

"Ah, Frieza isn't beating me over the head this time. Makes it easier to hear someone who isn't.. here." Goku relaxed himself a bit more, let his mind 'listen' the way it did when he talked to King Kai. As before, on Namek, he looked 'sideways' a bit (as he thought of it) and could see, very dimly, Vegeta. 

"Hmmph. Pay attention, Kakarott, I don't have much time. You didn't finish off that demon; it can cross over from the spirit world and reform its body, and start all over again. I don't know when it will come back, but it WILL come back!" 

"No!" Goku's eyes went wide with horror. "But.. if we kill it again--" 

"It will come back, AGAIN, Kakarott! You can't kill it, I couldn't kill it, no one, not even Gohan, can kill that damnable thing! Not permanently." 

"There MUST be a way!" Goku's face was stern, none of his usual cheerfulness showed. He clenched his fists. "I won't let that monster win!" 

"Glad you feel that way, Kakarott." Vegeta said dryly in the other Saiyan's mind. "We're of the same mind on that!" the ghost prince snarled. "I intend to find out the thing's secrets, Kakarott--and when I do, I WILL kill it!" 

"Before you find your way back to life?" Goku asked, the hint of a smile on his face. 

"WHAT?? What do you know about that?" Vegeta seemed genuinely surprised. 

"Raditz said you were trying to find a way out of Hell, back to life. He thought you were up to something more, too." Goku said nonchalantly, mischief in his eyes. 

"RADITZ?? How have you been talking to--?? Where is that baka ghost?--I couldn't find him around here!" 

Goku grinned. "You haven't heard? My brother's alive!" 

"ALIVE?? Alive? How did that idiot manage to--? Kakarott, what has happened?" Vegeta seemed bewildered. 

"It's a long story, Vegeta, but Bulma found a wish--wasn't strong enough to bring you back, she tried, but by accident she wished Raditz back. Lots of strange things happened, Gohan and Raditz killed a bad one, you got to hear the story from Bulma when you get back!" 

"Obviously." Vegeta seemed to have recovered his composure. "What is he doing now?" 

"Ah, he's Bulma and Trunks bodyguard--said he promised you he'd protect them." 

"He did. Well, well, well." Vegeta laughed soundlessly. "That's one thing that turned out better than I expected!" He turned serious once again. "Listen, Kakarott! If Bulma finds any more wishes, or you get Namek's dragonballs, or whatever, don't wish me back yet! I'm not ready; first I've got to find that damn thing's secret!" 

"But how? If you're in Hell, and that thing is here..." 

"It came from beyond the Lower Hells, Kakarott! And it left a trail, a trail I will follow--have followed--am following! Just wait until I tell you--and send that monster back to Hell as many times as it takes until I get back! Do you understand me, Kakarott?" 

"Yes! Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to them." Goku nodded, a determined look on his face. 

"Daddy? 'Geta?" A sleepy Goten peeked around the frame of the boy's bedroom door, then ran down the hall waving his arms. He ran past Goku, and stopped, frowning. "'Geta no fun!" Suddenly anxious, he grabbed Goku's leg. "Daddy fun!" 

Goku swept up Goten. "Little wild man, what are you doing out of bed in the middle of the night? Shhhh, you'll wake Mommy and Bulma up!" 

"Thirsty. Want a glass a' water." 

"Kakarott, am I imagining things, or DID THAT KID SEE ME??" Vegeta seemed shocked. 

"Oh, Goten can see spirits," Goku chuckled. "Raditz found that out first; Goten saw my brother and kept trying to tell us about him, and for weeks none of us had any idea what he was talking about!" 

"See 'Geta!" Goten confirmed vigorously. "He talks like Nunk Rats--call daddy 'Carrot'." Goten giggled. "Water now, daddy?" 

Goku felt Vegeta's silent astonishment. Finally, the ghostly Saiyan spoke again in his mind. "That.. is interesting. I have little time, Kakarott, and things to do before that damn demon gets wind of me. Remember what I told you!" With that, all sense of Vegeta's presence vanished. 

"Where 'Geta go?" Goten exclaimed, confused. 

"I don't know," Goku said slowly. "Let's get you that water, okay?" 

"'kay!" 

*      *      *      *

Bulma dreamed a sweet dream. No more nightmares, but a dream so poignant-sweet... She dreamed Vegeta lay beside her, and caressed her hair as she lay sleeping. In her dream, she opened her eyes, to find her lost prince looking at her with such a sweet-sad expression of longing. 

"Silly woman," he said, in his rude-affectionate way, "you cry too much. I'm not that easily gotten rid of!" Vegeta grinned wolfishly, and held her tightly. 

"Vegeta.." she wrapped her arms around his strong neck, feeling his hard, muscular body next to hers. "Damn you! Come back to me, you bastard!" 

He rolled over, still holding her, coming to rest with her atop him, looking down. "I will, I promise you that!" Vegeta reached up and gently brushed Bulma's hair back from her face. "But not yet." He ran one finger lightly down the line of her jaw, her neck, her collarbone, lower still... 

"Why not?" A tear dropped from her eye onto his bare chest. "There are other wishes..." 

He shook his head. "Not yet! First, I make sure you and Trunks are never threatened by that demon-filth again! Not ever!" Vegeta snarled, and then relaxed. He rolled Bulma over again, stopping with himself on top this time. 

"Trust me." He closed her mouth with a kiss as she started to ask him again, a long, passionate kiss that went on and on.. 

Bulma started awake. She was alone, but the dim light of the half-moon revealed the tossed and turned sheets on her bed--as if two people had rolled around on it. And the scent of him lingered in the air... 

"Come back to me, you sweet bastard," she whispered to the night. "I'll be waiting for you." 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER IX. SERPENT'S DOWRY


	10. IX. Serpent's Dowry

## IX. SERPENT'S DOWRY

"..and that is all that I have seen and heard and felt, Great Deputy," Scout concluded verbally after reporting through his mindlink to Deputy. The raptor-like demon prostrated itself before the huge crouching form of Deputy, its hide rippling patterns of grey and black against the black mud and broken concreate. 

Deputy crouched upon a broken wall and rustled his wings impatiently. <Enforcer?> it queried the other demon through its mindlink. 

Enforcer bared its array of razor-sharp teeth. <They have come to my call--more easily than I predicted, in this distant age that has forgotten Chaos and the Compact of Time. They worship the Greater Self, and await your coming to mark them and grant them power!> The shadow demon bowed to Deputy. 

<They are ready to do the work?>

<They are ready, lacking only your touch.> Enforcer replied. <"Rapists", "serial killers", "cannibals" --as this age calls them, and power-hungry fools who crave destruction... they await you. They were always ready; they lacked only a master.>

<This age is good!> answered Deputy. <Let the most capable prove themselves in minor works before I initiate them.>

<What works shall I give them?> the shadow demon puzzled. <Our work, or-->

<Something that supports our work. Scout, you also have a mind, add what is useful. Three there are who maximize the woe to our enemies: the child Goten, beloved of the three males; the child Trunks, beloved of the woman and protected by one of the males; and the woman Bulma, beloved of her child, at least liked by both males, protected by one of the males. A dilemma: slay the child Trunks, and woe is brought to the mother--but the child is spared further woe. Slay the mother, and the child is bereaved, but the mother is spared. This is not satisfactory. Both must suffer to the utmost!>

<Perhaps... a deception?> Scout volunteered timorously. 

<Speak!> commanded Deputy. 

<Let each believe the other slain in torment, soul damned/devoured, without making it so until the end--will not both then suffer the greatest woe?>

"HSSSSSSS!" Deputy vocalized. <Yes! That is good, Scout.> He patted the dinosaur demon patronizingly. <But let all others believe BOTH destroyed; then the male-protector will self-agonize at his failure, and the other male lament, and both curse their fate.>

<It will take some planning,> cautioned Enforcer. 

<My job!> Deputy snarled, slime dripping from his jagged teeth. <I will tell you what plans are needed!> A taloned hand snapped out and knocked the powerful Enforcer sprawling. <But first, the simplest target: the child Goten. Slay him in torment, degrade and destroy him, and let the others know of it. Woe upon the brother and the uncle, and the child-friend Trunks! The father's grief shall be a free bonus, our vengeance upon him.>

<They will hunt us for it!> Scout quivered fearfully. Enforcer nodded affirmation. 

<Don't get caught, fools! You have inherited my gifts of indetectability and intelligence--use them! Be clever!> Deputy's mindvoice was contemptuous. <Remember! The two adult males and the adolescent are for our Greater Self to destroy! Avoid them!>

The great horned head turned to regard Enforcer. <I will come to initiate your followers when you sacrifice what is left of the child Goten to Chaos! Scout, your new assignment is to gather all information and aid to Enforcer, that he may do as I have willed. Now, go and make it so!>

As he watched Scout flap off into the distance, a sound caught Deputy's attention. He looked around--over there! A figure scurried for shelter among the broken buildings. Deputy drew dark lips back from slime-dripping, jagged teeth, baring them in a snarl. He lurched into the air, flapping his massive pinions. 

The scent of man filled his nostrils; someone thought to hide from him here! Deputy traced the man to a rude shelter nestled inside the still-standing walls of another broken building, and alighted silently atop the broken building's wall. 

The man, a scavenger and junk dealer, cowered in his crude hut. What was that thing? All he could imagine was that some horrible mutant had grown in the blasted ruins of the nuked city. Fortunately, he thought, the thing couldn't see him here in-- 

The ceiling collapsed as two taloned feet crashed through the plywood and tarpaper shell. A taloned hand as big as he was reached down and snatched him up as he lay there, paralyzed with terror. Deputy studied his catch intently, long barbed tongue flicking in and out of his mouth. 

Humans were so easy. Deputy tittered as he raked a talon across the man's belly. The human's eyes bulged with horror as he saw the loops of intestine spill out, and he grabbed at them and tried feebly to push them back in. Deputy giggled again, and licked out with his barbed tongue, hooking the entrails as the man began to scream in agony and terror. The demon pulled a loop of intestine into his jaws, and began to slurp it up, slowly, savoring the flavor of the human's long agony. Deputy closed his eyes, thinking blissfully of what he would do with the blue-haired woman and the violet-haired child when the time came. Only one thing was needful.. 

<Enforcer!> Deputy hurled a thought across their mindlink. <Perform the Chaos Spawn ritual, and summon some of my broo from Hell. They will be needed for the woman.. and the child.>

*      *      *      *

"Morning," Sean Nixon grunted at his neighbor from the apartment across the hall. It was near midnight, but he always said "Morning". His neighbor, an unshaven, surly looking fellow, glared at him and slunk into his apartment. Sean shrugged as he turned the key in the lock; he didn't like his neighbor anyway. 

"Makoto, check e-mail," he yelled at the computer as he entered. 

"You've got mail, baby." the computer replied in a sultry voice, obediently displaying the day's correspondence. 

"I've got to change that voice," Sean muttered to himself as he sat down. "This one is just too demoralizing. Well, what have we got?" He tabbed through the mail. 

"Good, good, good--Ow! My poor singed eyeballs! Somebody sure got their underwear in a twist over my security consultantship marketing!" He peered at the return address. "Capsule Corporation, eh? I don't know who the netadmin is, but he sure wields a mean flamethrower. Idiot." Sean continued reading his e-mail for a while. 

He sat back and sighed when he was done. "Twelve 'thanks for the info, we'll handle it ourselves', one temporary job--maybe, three 'we're still wrangling over the Convergence 95 committee membership'--oops, how did those get into my VirtualBlack folder--" Sean dumped the offending letters in the 'Goth Convergence' folder where they belonged, "--one scorching flame-type rejection, and one very interesting offer." He pondered the last. "Someone wants a bit of industrial espionage done. Against Capsule Corp. Hmmm." Sean smiled grimly. "Wouldn't hurt to scout the perimeter, even if I don't decide to step over the line." 

*      *      *      *

A flickering yellow glow lit the tunnels of Hell, and something slithered in the distance. No, some.. things, plural, Vegeta corrected himself. There's more than one of them, I can feel it! 

The warning given to Kakarott, Vegeta had departed Lankha and returned to the path that he knew he must follow. Back, past Indrajit (who had been nowhere to be found), to the Dire Wood and downwards into the endless caverns again. The Saiyan prince was getting very tired of caves and tunnels. 

Damn useful, those Rakshasa illusions. That damn demon could not sense me except when I revealed myself to Kakarott--and I didn't give him time to home in on me. Right under the bastard's nose--Hah! Vegeta smiled cockily to himself. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy outwitting a powerful opponent--it's been so long since I've had to. 

Torches? Who is using torches? And WHY? Vegeta examined the stretch of tunnel ahead of him. Haven't any of these demon races heard of electricity? Haven't any of them heard of any technology more advanced than basic iron age? Or are they just too stupid to deal with more than one moving part at a time? Feh. 

Things slithered behind him, now, as well as ahead. Something blocked the tunnel--a gate. Two floor to ceiling iron posts supported ornate wooden panels, engraved with repeating patterns of serpents entwined. Vegeta scowled and thrust out one hand-- 

And the gate opened before he could destroy it. Behind it stood.. coiled?.. three strange figures. In the center coiled what appeared to be a monstrous snake from the tail to just short of its head, where two powerful arms and broad shoulders emerged. The head combined features of both man and cobra; a forked tongue flicked in and out, testing the air. The man-serpent held a broad-bladed, curved sword in one hand, and wore golden mail over his shoulders and partway down his body. A gold, gem-studded crown adorned his head. Beside him coiled two other man-serpents, in plain steel mail and carrying short spears and shields. Vegeta glanced behind; four more snake-guards had appeared there, cutting off retreat. 

"What are you?" snapped Vegeta. 

"I," the center man-snake said haughtily, "am Vasuki, King of the Nagas. You," the Naga king sneered, "are my prisoner and soon to be my slave, fool!" 

"Your what??" Vegeta nearly choked, though whether on laughter or rage was not immediately obvious. 

"You thought to escape your just sentence by escaping to the Middle World as a ghost, didn't you? A pity for you, evil one, that you could not pass Indrajit the Invisible. It must have been a shock, when he who reads all hearts confronted you!" The serpent king smiled unpleasantly. 

Vegeta threw back his head, and his laughter rang off the stone walls. The Naga king drew back, unsmiling now, obviously disconcerted. 

Abruptly Vegeta stopped laughing, and thrust one hand behind him. He smiled evilly-- 

King Vasuki blinked his eyes rapidly, dazzled by the brilliant flash of light that had appeared behind Vegeta. As the smoke cleared, and his vision returned, the snake king saw to his dismay that his four rear-guards had vanished, burned to a thin layer of soot by the stranger. 

Vegeta savored the Naga king's growing dismay. "Oh, yes, about Indrajit--I defeated him, and have just returned from a pleasant visit in Hidden Lankha." Vegeta smirked. 

Just as the words registered in Vasuki's mind, Vegeta snapped forward and slammed a fist into Vasuki's gut--or, what would have been his gut except that snake ribs continue much further down than a human's. Vasuki crashed into the far wall, cracking stone from the impact. The wind was knocked out of him; he struggled to speak as his two guards attacked Vegeta. 

A flurry of blows, a crunching of bones, and two broken-backed snakes writhed on the stone floor and grew still. Ghosts arose and departed; the nagas were a living supernatural race of the underworld, and died as men die. Vegeta turned back to King Vasuki. 

"No.." the serpent king gasped. "Spare me!" Vegeta gave him that evil smile as he extended one hand. 

"NOOOO! I give you my greatest treasure, if only you spare me!" 

Vegeta paused. "What treasure of yours could I possibly want, snake?" he asked with some irritation. 

"My virgin daughter, laden with her bridal gold, is yours if you spare me. My life is her brideprice," the old serpent pleaded, slithering erect again. 

"You would give your daughter to me? Her life mine, to do with as I please, even kill her, in exchange for your own?" Vegeta's brows lowered. How far would this weak fool go to save his life? 

"Yessss! You have defeated Indrajit, and I accosted you foolishly, thinking you weak--I apologize for so mistaking a great warrior. A great warrior such as you would be a proper husband for my daughter Kadru." He looked back over his shoulder. "Bring forth Princess Kadru!" he called. 

He is a fawning flatterer, and a weakling! I should kill him and his daughter both! The Nagas should crown a more worthy king than this! Let him bring out his daughter--then he will be surprised indeed when I kill him! 

From somewhere in the distance ahead, three more nagas slithered towards the Naga King and Vegeta. Two of them were guards, but the third! Her face was veiled, and an abbreviated gown adorned the upper part of her serpentine body. From her head to just below her waist, her form was very feminine. Gold and gems covered her--adorned her veil, hung in necklaces around her neck, weighed down her arms, beringed her fingers and belted her waist. 

Princess Kadru slithered to a halt before her father, and bowed to him. "I obey your command, Papa, and I am here." She sighed, and regarded Vegeta with intense dark eyes. The two guards with her shifted nervously as they saw the remains of their comrades, and glared at Vegeta with some hostility. 

King Vasuki bowed obsequeously. "Daughter, I give you to this great warrior, who has defeated Indrajit in combat, and visited the court in Lankha. Honor me, and be obedient to him as is proper." Vasuki avoided looking at his daughter as he spoke. 

"Who is this great warrior? Has he a name?" Kadru asked a bit tartly. 

Vegeta's eyes widened in surprise. She does not fear me! Out of ignorance, or... No. She is intelligent, and she saw the dead guards, the damage to her father's armor--her eyes dart around, and she's evaluating ME now. Vegeta smirked. 

"I am Prince Vegeta of the Saiyajin, the greatest warrior ever born to the Vegeta kings of Vegetasai!" he declared proudly. 

Kadru's eyes widened. "Papa! You have found me a worthy husband!" 

Vegeta smiled unpleasantly. "Too bad for you that I-- WHAT?" 

King Vasuki vanished. One second he was coiled against the wall, the next he just slipped into the stone and was gone. 

"PAPA!" Kadru's scream of rage and shame revealed her surprise. 

"A coward and a weakling, but not a fool," Vegeta snarled. "He knew I meant to kill him anyway!" He whirled to face the naga princess. 

"I can't believe he did that to me! AIYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Kadru keened at the top of her lungs, an incredibly loud sound in the confined tunnel. 

"BE SILENT, WOMAN!" 

The keening abruptly stopped; Kadru looked at Vegeta, startled by his shout. "I am sorry, husband, I forgot my place. It won't happen again. It's just that I am so ashamed--Papa didn't have to be so obvious about getting rid of me." Her lovely dark eyes brimmed with tears. 

Vegeta took a deep breath, several deep breaths--despite the fact that he was dead and didn't need to breathe at all. "First, I AM NOT YOUR HUSBAND! Second, you are either going to fade back through the wall to your father, or I am going to kill you! Do you understand me?" 

"I know that you think Papa cheated you," she said as she lowered her veil to reveal her face, "because I am so plain, but I assure you I will be a most excellent wife. I have studied diligently all the arts a good wife must know, as detailed in the sacred Sutras of Kama--" 

"Plain?? How can I tell if you are plain or beautiful? You're a snake! How do I know what looks good to another snake?" Vegeta snapped. 

Kadru looked hurt. "If it is my shape that displeases you, that can be changed," she said as her serpentine form shimmered and shifted to that of a two-legged green girl. "A talent I inherited from my mother," she added modestly. 

Hmmm.. Whoever told her she was plain was too picky to be judging women! She's not bad looking--WHAT AM I THINKING??? I'm not here to pick up snake-women! 

"ALL the arts of Kama," she continued as if she'd never been interrupted, "not merely the ones a man thinks of first. I weave and embroider, dance, sing, play musical instruments, recite poetry, am a diligent student of the sacred scriptures, an expert cook in all the cuisines of the continent--" 

"Cook?" She's a cook? I can't kill this girl! If she's half what she claims, she's a treasure! "No matter. I already have a wife." He started to walk away. 

"Oh, that will be no problem. I'm not one of those arrogant princesses who will only suffer to be a first wife; I will be your second wife, and serve your first wife as faithfully as I serve you! I assure you, she will never have to labor in the household again, save as she desires to, and I will be obedient to her in all things!" Kadru followed the Saiyan prince. 

Vegeta thought briefly of Bulma's probable reaction if he brought this serpent-woman back with him and informed his mate that Kadru was to be Vegeta's second wife and Bulma's new maid. His lips curved up in a wry--very wry!--smile. 

"No! Trust me, it wouldn't work." 

"Then I am shameful and without honor--cast out by my father, rejected by my husband-to-be. Who am I then? No one, and nothing, _adhamaadhama_. I am an embarassment to my father--a princess, and yet none will have me, because I am plain, and because they fear my mother's heritage, yet Papa is too proud--or too greedy, which is a shameful thing for me to say about my papa--to lower my brideprice. You must have terrified him greatly that he accepted his life as payment for me!" 

Vegeta smirked at that. He was not overly interested in the domestic tragedies of snakes, but one thing she'd said piqued his curiousity. "What is your mother's heritage, and why does it scare them?" 

"My mother is a great princess, and a powerful sorceress--all Naga-kind are, but the blood of Ravana runs in mother's veins, too, from the days when the Demon King stole wives from among the wives and daughters of all the supernatural races. So it is that I can change my shape from naga to human to serpent, you see." She continued, "Mother has very great.. appetites, and they proved too much for Papa. He demanded a divorce after she ate his chancellor and tried to eat him." 

Kadru sighed. "She demanded a very high price for the divorce, and Papa spent a great deal of his treasure--though not all, as he holds much of the Earth's wealth, almost as much as Vaishravana the Treasure King--spent it building a palace for her and the golden causeway that leads to it, Snake Way." 

"Snake Way??" Vegeta exclaimed. "Then your mother..." Confound it, was THAT who Kakarott made those cryptic comments about? 

"..is Princess Snake." She blinked long lashes at him. "You have heard of her!" Her lip trembled. "Is that why you won't claim me as your wife? It's not true, I did not inherit her hunger, no matter what anyone may have said. I'm no danger to your first wife or children, I promise!" 

"Woman, stop whining! I never heard of you until your father dumped you on me!" Princess Snake's daughter, eh? Now, what would Kakarott say if I brought her back to be HIS second wife? 

Vegeta couldn't help laughing at the image that thought conjured up. The look on Kakarott's face would be priceless! Almost worth the bother.. almost. He shook his head. 

"No! Just go back to your father!" Vegeta snarled, less viciously than his usual wont. 

"I cannot--it would shame Papa too much. There is nothing left for me. I will not shame my father's name by living infamously, with neither husband nor father nor brothers to protect my honor." 

"What is that supposed to mean, woman?" Vegeta growled, getting very tired of this snake-woman's carrying on. Idiotic woman--couldn't she stand on her own two feet? Or tail, or whatever? Bulma would never have carried on like this--she'd just tell me what she thought of me, and then do whatever the hell she pleased, with or without me, or her father, or Kakarott, or anyone else! 

"I will kill myself, of course. That way, I at least leave my family without shame." She was curiously impassive. 

"That's a solution!" Vegeta started to stalk off, and then paused, a nasty thought coming to mind. He turned. "What happens when you die?" 

Princess Kadru was smiling strangely. "My ghost will arise. Doubtless I will follow the one who shamed me with his rejection, wailing and lamenting, forever." 

"I could just kill you myself." 

"Even more so would I follow the one who shamed me AND murdered me!" 

"I would break your spirit." 

"I would return. There is a power that sustains the wronged dead in their vengeance." 

"You're threatening me!" Vegeta seemed shocked. 

"If that is the only way, yes!" Kadru resumed her Naga form. "All I require is an honorable marriage. I do not ask that you love me, or even like me. I have no brothers, and my father has given me to you." She shrugged. 

Vegeta scowled and almost said something--then checked himself abruptly. He looked at the Naga princess speculatively. "You don't need me," Vegeta said in a matter-of-fact way. 

"Yes, I do! I must have a husband!" She slithered after him, determined. 

"You certainly think so!" Vegeta snapped. "You want a husband. *A* husband.. any husband" he emphasized, "but not me." 

Comprehension dawned. "You are rather unpleasant," she conceded. "You will find me a suitable husband, then," Kadru said confidently. 

"I'll what?? Woman, have you lost your little snakey mind?" 

"It is the only reasonable solution. As far as Papa knows, you are my husband, thus there is no shame to him in my accompanying you to find a real husband." She looked sidelong at Vegeta. "Conduct yourself toward me as a brother, and there will be no shame to me, either." 

At least she is wise enough not to remind me of her previous threat--though it still stands; I can see it in her eyes. I don't believe this! The Prince of the Saiyajin, outwitted by this silly snake-woman?? Bah! 

Well, if she stays alive and unmarried until I get back to Earth, there's always Raditz... Vegeta smiled darkly. 

"Don't expect me to wait for you," was all Vegeta said as he stalked off. 

*      *      *      *

"Hey, you hard-wired to that computer, or what?" Melchior asked Sean. He was skinny, geeky-looking kid in black jeans and black T-shirt with hair dyed green, three earrings per ear, a nose stud, and two eyebrow rings over his left eye. "Come on, take a breather--you're turning into a web zombie." 

"Don't you guys ever knock?" Sean asked, rubbing his eyes and turning away from the computer he'd been hunched over for hours. 

"Not since you gave me a key," Pomona answered cheerily, waving the aforementioned object. "Melc is right--you need a break." She waved a hand in front of his face. "Uh-huh, having trouble focusing on something more than half a meter away, aren't you?" 

"Yeah, okay." Sean pushed his chair back and stood up, brushing his black hair out of his eyes. "I guess I am a bit hungry." He looked around at the pile of empty Coke cans and candy wrappers on his desk. "For real food." 

"And you'll need some exercise to come down from that caffiene buzz before you can even think of sleeping! We've got just the place!" Pomona looped her arm in Sean's and all but dragged him toward the door. 

"What? Where?" Sean blinked at the pink-haired goth girl. 

She giggled. "Silly, 'The club, Elwood, the club!' What did you think? Floodland, of course!" 

The new girl stuck her head in the door and added, "Melchior's going to spin some classics for me to dance to--Sisters of Mercy, The Cure, and so on." Sinhika Manohara winked at Sean. 

Sean swallowed hard and ran for his room, for a quick cold shower and a change of clothes. He'd first seen the drop-dead gorgeous Indian girl with the orange hair a week ago--well, *everyone* had seen her--at the grand re-opening of Floodland, the night club that had been smashed flat by a berserk demon some months ago. 

At first, she'd been just another face in the crowd.. then the dance floor started to clear around her, as the other club-goers backed away to watch, awestruck. She danced like no one but herself was there to watch, like the music reached in and possessed her, driving her to a frenzy. And how she danced! Supple and graceful, rhythm and sensuality incarnate, exotic and classical, all in one tireless body--Sinhika's dances rapidly became known as the best unofficial show in the club. 

*      *      *      *

Raditz looked both ways, and up, and around. He hated it when Bulma went downtown--too many people, too many directions for danger to appear from. He'd sense it if something powerful (like the demon that killed Vegeta) appeared, but Bulma was so weak, and untrained as well. A mere human with a weapon could kill her, if he wanted to! 

He'd said something about it, once--just once! Bulma had snapped at him, "If you must be my personal bodyguard, you're just going to have to adapt to MY life; I'm NOT going to spend the rest of it living in a bunker just because you think it isn't safe! If you don't like it, tough!" 

Fortunately for both of them, Raditz felt none of the embarassment a human male would have felt at accompanying Bulma into various women's boutiques. As far as he was concerned, they were just more human merchants, and their shops were somewhat less dangerous than the open street. 

Raditz wished she wouldn't ask his opinion all the time, though. Bulma knew very well what she looked good in--at least, everything she'd picked out had been very.. distracting. Especially that tight red dress with the low back! 

"Well, what do you think?" She popped out of the dressing room with the saleslady in tow, and turned slowly, modelling the red dress. She smirked at Raditz's reaction. "Perfect! Wait until Vegeta sees me in this!" 

Raditz wiped the sweat off his forehead. When did it get so hot in here? As far as he was concerned, Bulma would look great in a potato sack--or better yet, nothing at all... 

WHOA, RADITZ! She's Vegeta's MATE, you moron! Your PRINCE, remember? But he's dead, and I'm not.. But he'll be back.. or will he? The chances aren't good.. But Bulma's so confident that he'll be back all of a sudden.. why? Maybe Kakarott knows something; I'll have to ask him. In the meantime.. I hope she's about done with those tight.. revealing.. incredibly sexy dresses that make it so easy to imagine what she looks like without any-- ARRGGGHHH! I'm doing it again! 

Raditz stepped outside. I can wait out here for her, there's no danger to Bulma in that shop--except from me. He was surprised to see that it was dark already. Across the street, a crowd gathered, forming a line in front of some other arcane shop or business. "Floodland", the sign proclaimed; apparently it was not yet open (whatever it was), but eagerly anticipated by the young men and women out front. 

Raditz watched the crowd; such gatherings made him nervous about Bulma, and he was already on edge. The girl doing backflips and a cartwheel caught his eye. Orange hair, dusky skin, very nice-looking.. seemed to be warming up for something. She stretched and ran through what looked to Raditz like some type of kata, or combat training form. He frowned; his professional paranoia kicked in. 

Yes--he could sense some power about her! Not much, but more than the rest of these weaklings--and if she could hide her power like Kakarott.. Raditz watched the orange-haired girl closely, with an occasional glance around to make sure he wasn't being distracted from the main attack, if there was one. 

With paranoia in high gear, it didn't take the long-maned Saiyan long to notice the others watching him. There was a small knot of three or four people standing near the athletic girl, watching him. They all wore black--some kind of uniform?--and more jewelry than Raditz had noticed on other humans. Two men had coal-black hair, one had green hair, and the girl had pink hair. And they were talking about him. 

Raditz smirked to himself; one thing he'd learned already, human ears weren't nearly as sensitive as Saiyan ears. Humans frequently thought themselves to be whispering in private when Raditz could hear them just fine. He focused on the conversation across the street, tuning out the traffic noise and general murmur. 

"Who's the big goon across the street?" said the tall, well-built man with black hair. "He's new.." 

"Not a tourist, not wearing that Capsule Corp jacket!" answered the scrawny weakling with the green hair. "Definitely a fashion victim--jeans and a corporate logo jacket? Yecch!" 

"I wouldn't say 'yecch' to that bod, Melc! And look at that HAIR! Yum!" The pink-haired girl in the very short black skirt looked at Raditz in a very frank, almost predatory way. "Nice face, too--he'd be downright handsome if he wasn't scowling." 

Green-hair reconsidered. "You're right--get him some decent clothes and I wouldn't be saying 'no', either! He's built like.. well, he's built!" 

"Only if he swings your way, Melchior," the pink-haired girl smiled mockingly. "Be just my luck if he did," she pouted. 

"Hey, maybe we'll both get lucky and he goes both ways." Melchior shrugged. "It could happen." 

The tall black-haired man glared at Raditz. "With that build, he's probably a brainless jock," he sneered. Something in his tone, and the way he stood close to the pink-haired girl suggested jealousy to Raditz. 

What a strange group of humans! Well, maybe not so strange, Raditz thought as he remembered some long-ago barracks room conversations about this or that Saiyan girl. But still..! To have a bunch of humans discussing HIM as if he were some strong, good-looking Saiyan woman who might be willing..! He wasn't sure whether he should be amused, or insulted. At least they weren't plotting an attack on Bulma or himself. 

Raditz's mouth curved up in a hint of a smile. Bulma had been right; human women (and some men) found him very attractive! 

"Woo-hoo! He's smiling! Told ya! He's not just handsome, he's gorgeous!" the pink-haired girl crowed to her companions, who now included the orange-haired girl, done with her exercises. She watched him intently, interest plain on her face. 

"Doesn't look like he's coming to the club," she said in a sultry voice that Raditz had to strain to hear. "What a shame! I'd like to get to know him!" 

"In the biblical sense?" queried the tall jealous man sardonically. 

"Maybe," the orange-haired girl smiled, and sashayed into the now-open club door. 

About that time, Bulma finally emerged from the shop, loaded with packages; Raditz reluctantly turned away. 

*      *      *      *

The only good thing about this hell, Vegeta thought, was that he was out of those endless damn caves! An icy wind blew over barren hills and through dark canyons as they picked their way ever downward. Kadru was blue-lipped and shivering, and even Vegeta could feel the cold. He cursed it. 

" _Nande kuso_? I am DEAD, damn it! Why should I be cold?" He leaped down to the bottom of the current ravine, and, contrary to his earlier harsh words, waited for Kadru. 

Princess Kadru shifted to human form; this ravine was too steep, she needed both hands and both feet. "I don't know, I've never experienced anything like this. I've read about it, though. It is winter, I think--a supernatural, eternal winter." 

"Supernatural winter, supernatural cold--so they freeze the damned here instead. Wonderful." Vegeta's voice was flat. 

"If it's any consolation, not-husband, the living are also freezing here," Kadru responded mildly. 

"I said I'd find you a husband; I didn't promise to keep you comfortable or alive." Vegeta considered. "If you were dead, I wouldn't have to worry about keeping you alive." At her angry look, he smirked. "I won't kill you--I don't need your ghost haunting me all the way back home--but try not to have any accidents, and don't freeze to death!" 

The ravine opened out into a larger canyon, with a stone-paved road in the center, leading down around a bend. 

"Down that road," pointed Vegeta, "is the Gioll Bridge. We cross it, and follow the river to Naastrand." 

Kadru looked at him in some surprise. "You know this place?" 

"Only by legend. We are in Niflheim." Vegeta continued down the road; Kadru shifted to Naga form and slithered after him. 

Ahead of her, Vegeta stopped suddenly, and dropped into fighting stance. "What is it?" Kadru started ask, and then stopped abruptly. 

Just around the bend, at the very end of a huge iron chain, thick as a ship's anchor chain, crouched a monstrous hound. It was twice the size of an elephant, covered with thick hair, chest matted with blood. It crouched, snarling at Vegeta, baring gigantic teeth like knives. Torn and rotting fragments of flesh and bone lay scattered about. 

Vegeta answered with one word: "Garm." 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER X. THE MOONSTOP


	11. X. The Moonstop

## X. THE MOONSTOP

White fire crackled and flared around Vegeta as he gathered power. The ground shook; small pebbles and dust rose into the air; the incessant cold wind stopped, and the air grew pungent with ozone. 

Before Vegeta, the monstrous hound Garm crouched, baring ivory fangs the size of swords. It laid its ears back, and crouched lower as power raged around Vegeta. Its deep growl rose in pitch, and it shook its head from side to side, ears pained by the seething energies around Vegeta. 

Kadru backed away, looking for cover that wasn't floating away in the vortex of Vegeta's power. She shifted to two-legged, human form and climbed the canyon wall to a sheltered ledge, then turned to watch. 

Suddenly, all fell silent as Vegeta gathered the power in; rocks fell to the ground, and the cold wind blew as before. Garm snapped at Vegeta as he rose into the air--Vegeta dodged with ease. 

The Saiyan prince glared into Garm's eyes, wide, dark Saiyan eyes locked with huge, amber beast's eyes--and realized something. He laughed. 

"You're a dog! A very large, ugly, vicious, supernatural dog, but still just a dog! Look at me, you stupid thing! I am the prince of the Saiyajin, greatest of warriors--and YOU are just a dog!" Vegeta levitated just above the monster-hound's eyes, almost standing on its nose. He crossed his arms and continued to stare Garm down. 

Garm growled, a deep thundering sound that reverberated off the canyon walls. Its ears were flat against his head as it tensed. 

Faster than Garm could see, Vegeta moved. CRACK! Garm's head rocked as the Saiyan prince slammed the side of his muzzle--and then resumed his position, glaring down at Hel's hound. Energy gathered in his left hand. 

The monster growled in rage and lunged again--WHOOM! Garm fell back, howling and pawing his singed, smoking nose. Vegeta laughed, never looking away from the dog-monster; Garm growled in rage and hate, but this time, another note crept in, an uncertain whine. 

"Yes, you ARE a dog--an animal! I am a MAN--learn that now, dog! I'm not patient with disobedient.. pets." He continued to glare at Hel's guard beast. 

Garm whined, and finally dropped its eyes, unable to meet the hot dark gaze of the Saiyan any longer. It tucked its tail and slunk away, growling dire promises of revenge, getting as far as the chain would allow from the prince who had no fear of Garm. 

Vegeta smiled with satisfaction. He turned his head. "Kadru! Are you a bird, now, that you nest on cliffs? Get down here, snake-woman, or be left behind!" 

Kadru crept fearfully past the sullen hound as Vegeta strode confidently down the road. At the bottom of the deepest canyon, the road crossed a dark cold river--the Gioll River of Niflheim. Even in the shadows of that icy hell the golden roof of the Gioll Bridge glimmered, beckoning the travellers onward. 

"It's warm!" Kadru suddenly exclaimed. "I can feel the heat coming off of it!" 

Vegeta soon saw why--the glimmering roof burned, gold burning with a perpetual, unnatural fire. The figure of an armored warrior maiden stood at attention, spear in hand, silhouetted by the fiery roof. "Hmmph. At least it keeps off that accursed icy wind!" he growled as he rubbed his stiff muscles. 

Princess Kadru gasped as they neared the bridge and its guardian. The warrior maiden was not so pretty up close; a skeletal guardian, braided blond hair still clinging to her otherwise bare, grinning skull. Bits of dried flesh still webbed arm bones and hands together, but it was a dead thing that stood there. 

"Ugly thing. She's going to have an even harder time finding a husband than you are, Kadru," Vegeta remarked, looking the silent, still guardian up and down. 

"Why? Are you volunteering?" 

Vegeta started and Kadru jumped as the skeletal guardian spoke with a deep, yet feminine voice, not unpleasant to the ear, with a hint of amusement in it. Empty sockets in the bare skull regarded Vegeta. 

"A bit short for my tastes--and I warrant you'd not be so pretty if you appeared here in your death wounds and decay as all Hel's subjects are supposed to." 

"I'm not one of Hel's subjects!" Prince Vegeta snapped. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" 

"You're dead, and you're here, that makes you one of Hel's subjects whether you like it or not. What Hel gets, she keeps. As for the formalities.." an audible sigh escaped the skeletal jaws, "I am Modgudh, guard of the Gioll Bridge. Who are you, and what is your business in Niflheim?" 

Vegeta crossed his arms and scowled. "I am Prince Vegeta of the Saiyajin, and my business is my own!" 

"Short, handsome, noble, and ill-tempered as Garm with sore paw--what an _interesting_ combination!" Modgudh chuckled, a disconcerting sound. "And you?" Modgudh turned to Kadru. "I mark you as living--no ghost ever made that much of a racket clomping down from Garm's Bend--but what do you here?" 

"I did NOT clomp!" Kadru protested. "I'm just not used to feet, that's all." As Modgudh continued to stare eyelessly at her, Kadru continued, startled, "Oh. Yes. I'm Princess Kadru, daughter of King Vasuki of the Naga People, and I'm looking for a husband. Prince Vegeta, my not-husband, is escorting me." 

Modgudh turned briefly back to Vegeta. "Not-husband? That's a new one." She turned to Kadru once again. "You're looking for a husband.. in Niflheim. Girl, unless your tastes run to god-devouring wolves or the shades of murderers, adulterers and cowards, you are seriously lost." 

"We're not planning on a long stay," Vegeta commented dryly. "Seen any large, out-of-place demons rampage through here lately?" 

Modgudh's skull swiveled back towards Vegeta again. "And your business here is...?" 

Vegeta unfolded his arms. "Vengeance!" 

"Against a large, out-of-place demon?" 

"Something like that. I'm looking for its trail: it's violent, destructive, and foul; its followers are goat-demon-things called broo. Are they here?" Vegeta demanded to know. 

"Foulness ever rises from the fount of frigid Elivagar; its poison taints all the giant races with evil. As for your broo demons, hard to say--this is Niflheim, where the dead giants and mound-dwellers walk as well as damned human ghosts. There are many unseelie things in this realm." Modgudh leaned on her spear. 

"Where is Elivagar?" 

Modgudh pointed silently upstream. 

"And Naastrand, where the ship Nailfarer Naglfar lies?" 

Modgudh pointed downstream. 

"I don't believe this! Twice over, and probably get nowhere!" Vegeta gritted his teeth. "Come on, woman!" The Saiyan prince crossed the bridge, Modgudh stepping aside to let him pass. Vegeta turned to follow the river--upstream. 

*      *      *      *

On Earth, Sinhika Manohara slipped away from the late night crowd. She loved to dance, but some of the people--ick! Well, Sean was vaguely interesting, but the rest of them.. forget it. She turned down the alley beside the club, dodging the boys on the street. 

She heard footsteps behind her, and glanced back. Oh, great, that Voron cretin was following her around again! Not only was he a self-centered, pretentious twit, but.. Sinhika stepped around a corner, and disappeared. 

Voron ("rhymes with moron", Pomona had once snidely remarked to Sinhika) stopped, baffled. She couldn't have just disappeared into thin air! Damn! She was perfect, too--if he could just get her to listen, to understand.. He sighed, shrugged, and turned back. 

Hovering invisibly twenty feet up, Princess Sinhika the Rakshasa watched him go. She smiled to herself; _Akritaatmaanul_! Clueless idiot! She rose into the sky, listening, looking, scenting the night air--this was her time, night and darkness, and she loved it! She came to rest on an upper ledge of a skyscraper, looking down at the city lights. 

Beautiful! It's not Beautiful Lankha of course, but it has an appeal all its own. So many people, all going every which way, all with their own private destinies. I wonder which ones are tied to that of the Ghost Prince? She wondered if any other Night Wanderers were in the city--she hadn't noticed any of her fellow rakshasas, but that hardly meant anything in such a metropolis. 

!!! 

What was that? It felt like--it was! The ancient duty pulled at her; someone or something had desecrated--was desecrating!--a holy place, and not far! " _Akaaryuum_! Someone has done something foul!" Sinhika growled to herself, and took to the air, her power veiled in illusion and invisibility. 

Sinhika alighted invisibly on the gateposts of an old Shinto temple. Keen eyes noted the broken door, keen ears heard rude voices raised inside, and an old man pleading. She darted inside, unseen and unheard. 

Two--no, three--punks pushed an old man around. Tables were overturned and images broken. One young thug, unshaven street riff-raff dressed in tattered fatigues and vest, held the old man while another punk in dirty camo-pattern T-shirt and fatigues punched him in the stomach. 

"Aw, this old priest is a wimp! No fun beating him up! Let's just get this over with," the thug in the vest complained. 

The third thug, a muscular fellow in dark jeans and tight black shirt, replied, "Yeah, knock it off, Shiru. You'll get your jollies when he's sacrificed. Bring him along!" 

Shiru, the thug in the camo-shirt, shrugged. "Hey, just having a little fun fer starters, you know. Think Keikan-Ma will give us a bonus for bringing in a priest and trashing a temple?" 

"THERE IS NOTHING BUT DEATH FOR DEFILERS!" boomed an inhumanly deep voice. The three thugs looked up, paralyzed by the sight of one of the two carved shrine guardians coming to life and rising from its pedestal. 

"OH SHIT! RUN FOR IT!" The muscular thug did the only sensible thing, and bolted into the night. 

"That's impossible!" Shiru gaped at the apparition, fist still clenched for another swing at the old priest. His partner stared dumbly, still holding the old man. They should have run. 

The reality of it finally reached Shiru far too late as the monstrous guardian demon lashed out with a taloned hand and tore out Shiru's throat. His partner let go of the old priest and turned to run, again too late as a taloned hand caught him by the back of the neck. 

It was over in less than a minute. The guardian demon glared in the direction the third defiler had gone, and growled gently to the priest, "That one will not escape his fate. Cleanse this place, and be calm; no righteous man need fear me." The demon vanished into the night, carrying the two corpses with it. 

On a nearby rooftop, Sinhika dropped her burden. " _Akritabuddhitvaah_ ; stupidity is my only excuse. Letting the third guy escape--dumb, Sinhika, dumb!" She shook her head. "And I really have to come up with better lines than that! Verbal and visual have to work together--'There is nothing but death for defilers!' sounded so lame! Hmmm... Maybe a simple 'Die, scum!' next time? If there is a next time, which I hope not, but.." She shook her head again. "I don't like that talk about sacrificing the priest.. and who--or WHAT--is Keikan-Ma? That isn't a real name; it literally means 'police demon', 'law enforcer demon', or something like that. I really don't like this..." 

*      *      *      *

Late the next afternoon, the phone woke Sinhika from a deep sleep. "Huh? What?" 

"It's me, Pomona. You still asleep? Wake up; it's five in the afternoon already! Look, we're trying to pry Sean off the computer again and drag him out to dinner; you coming?" 

Sinhika yawned. "No, I couldn't. I had a huge dinner late last night. I'm stuffed; I simply couldn't eat another.. thing today." 

*      *      *      *

"Fine, that's it for today! Go ahead and take the rest of the day off; we'll catch up on the rest of it tomorrow." Bulma shooed her executive assistant out of the office, and closed the door. At last! She was done with all those annoying humdrum business details; it was time for some fun.. er, research. 

Down in the lab, Bulma logged into her "special" server, and started working. 

"Oh, yes, you couldn't resist the bait, could you?" Bulma chuckled evilly as she studied her honeypot's logs. "One nasty flame or two, and you just had to come back to prove what a bad boy you were, didn't you, VirtualBlack? Let's see what you've been up to..." 

Later.. 

"Hmmm. No serious penetrations, no damage done.." she muttered to herself, "just sniffing around--wait a minute! That personal node in Security--I recognize those files! What in the hell are my Saiyan tech manuals doing there?? Whose computer was that... RADITZ!!! YOU IDIOT! You worked on those manuals on a damn clerical node! Didn't Hiregumi brief you on system security?" 

Bulma worked hurriedly. "Not good--VirtualBlack got enough to give the show away, if he has a clue about what he's got." She gritted her teeth. "Let's see what Dr. Brief's little girl can do to salvage the situation.. and when I see that long-haired, long-tailed IDIOT of a Saiyan, I will PERSONALLY give him that security briefing--with a tire iron!!" 

She laughed abruptly. "VirtualBlack! You're still on-line! Wonderful! I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE!!" She quickly entered the requisite commands, and paused, her finger hovering over the confirm button. Bulma smiled as evilly as Vegeta ever did right before a kill--and her finger stabbed down. 

The attack programs began their work, targetting VirtualBlack's computer and its precious, stolen data--and setting in motion events that would fling open the gates of Hell. 

*      *      *      *

In frigid Niflheim, Vegeta continued to curse the cold. He flew now, carrying Kadru in his arms, spending precious ki to pass over the deepening snow--and the power that should have warmed him, that allowed him to defy any earthly chill, did nothing to blunt the icy wind that knifed through him. It took all his concentration just to keep flying. As for Kadru... 

He glanced down at her. "What? This is not good." Her lips were blue, and face pale; Kadru shivered violently, continuously. "Don't die on me, snake-woman! You'll be just as cold as a ghost, I can tell you that." 

"Tired," she mumbled petulantly. "Just want to sleep..." Kadru's eyes closed; blowing snow started to cover her face. 

" _Kuso_! This is very not good!" Prince Vegeta looked around--there had to be some kind of shelter around here--Yes! Up on that ridge, overlooking the river.. a cave! He swooped toward it. 

He skimmed over the icefall at the entrance and flew on, into the cave. A bend or two, and the icy wind was left behind--only a stagnant, life-sapping cold remained to remind them of the eternal winter without. Vegeta set the Naga-princess down on dry rock, and looked around. 

"Damn this cold! There's got to be something that will burn around here!" he snarled, cold, tired and frustrated. 

"NO--BUT THERE'S HOT BLOOD TO DRINK!" Something large rumbled as it slouched out of the back of the cave. Twice or more the height of a man, massively muscled--though now those muscles were shrivelled black from long freezing and rotting, ugly, decaying, dead; the shade of some troll or other giantkin shambled forward, eager for fresh meat. It carried no weapon, but spread great clawed hands out to grab and crush. 

Vegeta leaped forward to the attack--and nearly stumbled into the thing's grasp. His eyes went wide; he was too slow and stiff--the damned cold! The undead troll lunged forward, unslowed by the cold it was born to, and grabbed Vegeta's leg. 

The troll tensed rotting muscles and slammed Vegeta hard against the cave wall, stunning him. It shifted its grip, grabbing the Saiyan by his hair with its other hand, and dragged him up face-to-decaying-skull. The monster scrutinized him closely. 

"NO FLESH TO DEVOUR, NO BONES TO CRACK!" It howled its disappointment, and flung Vegeta heavily against the wall. It ignored the discarded Saiyan ghost, and sniffed the air. "I SMELL LIVING MEAT!" It hooted, and lumbered toward the unconscious Princess Kadru. 

" _Chikusho_! I am the Prince of the Saiyajin, not your unwanted dinner! You should not turn your back on me!" Vegeta screamed his rage as power enveloped him, warmed him, turned him to flaming gold. 

"Good. There WAS something that would burn around here." observed Vegeta, one blast later. He returned to his normal form, hair fading from gold to black again--and nearly staggered in exhaustion. Going Super-Saiyan had drained most of his remaining energy. "Still not good. DAMN THIS COLD!" 

He dragged the unconscious snake-princess over next to the burning troll. "Kadru?" She did not respond, and was cold to the touch. Very carefully, he drew a hand back and slapped her repeatedly, rocking her head from side to side with the force of the blows. 

"Huh? Go 'way. Let me sleep.." she finally mumbled. 

"Stupid snake-wench!" Vegeta snarled, slapping her harder than ever. A split lip bled, and Kadru finally awakened fully. 

"STOP! Why are you hurting me?" she started to cry. 

"I cannot warm you, stupid snake! If you'd rather freeze to death, go back to sleep! If not, pull yourself up to the fire and get warm!" Vegeta snapped. 

"Oh." She crouched over the fire. "Phewww. What is that SMELL??" 

"Barbecued troll mummy, I think." 

Kadru finally looked at what was burning. "EEYECCH!" She backed away from the fire, felt the stagnant cold waiting for her, and sidled back to the fire. "That's disgusting!" 

"It burns." 

"It burns disgustingly." She frowned, and added pragmatically, "At least it is warm." 

Maybe she has one tiny iota of common sense, thought Vegeta. Warmth.. I never thought I'd need something so simple so badly. This damned, cursed cold! It's been sapping my strength since we entered Niflheim, and I never noticed! I've very little energy left, and getting it back won't be easy.. only two peaches left. No point in eating one until I figure out how to keep this infernal cold from draining all my energy away again. Damn this! 

"I wish I had a coat," Kadru muttered, as a pale light washed in from outside. 

"What kind of coat would protect you from THIS cold?" Vegeta retorted as he made his way back to the mouth of the cave. He peered over the icefall, and gasped. 

A great half-moon spun across the sky--only to Vegeta's eyes, it seemed that sometimes the moon shimmered and became a pale glowing goddess. It was not alone--pursuing the moon, snapping at the goddess's heels was a great white wolf, big as a mountain. Now and then its feet touched down as it bounced itself off the ground for a faster jump, nearly catching the fleeing lunar orb. It gamboled across the sky; snow and ice glittered in the air as it shook the hoarfrost from its fur. 

"So.. 'god-devouring wolves' was no jest..." Vegeta glanced back into the cave, and turned to watch the giant wolf. "What kind of coat, indeed! For supernatural cold, a supernatural fur coat." Prince Vegeta smirked, and hastened back to the fire. 

"You said you knew all the arts of a good wife, snake-woman. Can you sew?" Vegeta asked as he pulled out the next-to-last peach. 

Kadru blinked. "Of course! Sew, embroider, weave.. why do you ask?" 

Vegeta bit into the juicy peach, savoring its flavor. "I'm certainly not going to sew that coat you wished for! It's going to be enough trouble getting the fur." He ate all the peach but one bite, and glared at Kadru. 

"Here." Prince Vegeta shoved the last bit of peach into her hands. "Get your strength back, you'll have to survive the next bit on your own." 

Kadru took it. "Thank you, not-husband." She quickly ate the last bite, and stopped, eyes wide. "What is this? I feel so.. good. I'm not tired at all, and almost warm, and so strong.. it is so sweet!" 

Vegeta chuckled, amused at her reaction to the Peach of--he stopped chuckling as he remembered--IMMORTALITY! Raditz's words came back to him: "those are the Peaches of Immortality--too bad the immortality part only works for the living and for gods." Princess Kadru was LIVING! What had he just done? 

Vegeta leaned his head in his hands. "Snake-woman, you have the most unbelievably stupid good luck!" He sighed. "I have a wolf to kill. Wait here." 

Burning gold, Prince Vegeta flew out of the cave mouth to confront Hati, the wolf who hunted the moon. 

*      *      *      *

"All right! This is looking good, real good," Raditz reported through the prototype scouter's comm link. The long-haired Saiyan stood patiently while Bulma and another technician checked over his prototype armor. "Hey, it's just fine, I've worn and adjusted enough armor in my time to know when it is done right!" 

"Raditz, I'm checking the telemetry leads, not the fit!" Bulma snapped, a bit exasperated. "Your personal evaluations are nice, but they don't tell me how fast you're going, or how many joules of energy are being tossed about. I want hard data on how this holds up." 

"Crud! I'm just going to be flying around a bit, not picking a fight with Frieza's second cousin or whatever!" 

"That's not funny, Raditz!" Bulma growled. "You weren't there when cyborged Frieza and his father showed up--one of the more terrifying days of my life." 

"Sorry I missed it, but I was dead at the time--down in Hell with all my family and friends that Frieza murdered." 

"You're right, you do have a natural talent for being annoying!" Bulma yanked viciously at an innocent lead near Raditz's tail, almost pulling it loose. "Everything's secure, we're ready." 

"I told you that already." 

Bulma glared murderously at Raditz, but said nothing. 

"Can I take off now, without you taking an iron bar to my head?" 

"You had that coming." 

"So I didn't pay that much attention to Hiregumi's lecture on computer security--I'm here to protect you from real enemies, not nitwits with computers and too much time on their hands. My mistake; I didn't know the translation stuff could get stolen like that." Raditz shrugged, the closest he ever came to an apology to Bulma. 

"Go! We'll be monitoring channels 1, 3 and 4, and I'll be privately monitoring channel 2, got that?" 

Raditz nodded in the affirmative as he rose into the air, clad in the black bodysuit and hard white shell of the new Capsule Corp prototype armor. The familiar corona of energy enveloped him, and Raditz surged through the air, eager to push the new armor to its, and his, limits. The half-moon was just starting to rise; the merest sliver of it peeked over the horizon. 

*      *      *      *

Vegeta plunged through the deadly cold air in a high arc, descending on the great wolf. He debated for a moment whether or not to take ouzaru form, but then the moon-goddess turned to face him full on, ending the debate with his change. Super-saiyan Vegeta became super-saiyan ouzaru Vegeta, and Hati took notice. 

The giant white wolf, not quite the size of a mountain after all--only twice the size of ouzaru Vegeta, turned, snarling. The burning golden ape smashed into the white wolf, knocking the beast sprawling--but the wolf snapped teeth of ice shut on Vegeta's left wrist, pulling him down with it. Together they skidded across the sky, a tumbling ball of blazing gold and silver white; the moon stopped to watch. 

Vegeta locked his right hand around the wolf's throat; in return the wolf raked his stomach with its hard blunt hind nails. They finally tumbled to a stop against a mountainside; the golden ape pinned the monster wolf against the mountain with his knees and squeezed its throat ever more tightly while fighting to free his hand from the wolf's mouth. The wolf in its turn bit down on the captive wrist, but could not tear it off. 

The ape bellowed his rage; he couldn't blast the great wolf without losing his own hand! Still his other hand tightened, while his left hand froze, crushed in the dread wolf's icy jaws. The wolf thrashed weakly now, its titanic strength fading--and then Vegeta twisted with all his strength, left hand dragging the clenched jaws around to follow the right hand. 

CRACK! Hati went limp as its neck broke, and ouzaru Vegeta watched wide-eyed as a ghostly wolf arose, and howled dolefully at the moon it had once hunted. Then, without a backward glance, it trotted into the sky, to become one with the stars. The moon turned away from its former tormentor, and drifted a bit higher, no longer fleeing its dread pursuer. 

The golden ape pried its hand from the dead wolf's jaws with some difficulty, and carried the great carcass back to the cave mouth before the moon turned away too far, and super-ouzaru reverted to super-saiyan. 

Princess Kadru came to the cave mouth and marvelled, and then gave her own advice. "Warrior, drink the wolf's blood, and eat of the heart, for there you will find its power!" 

Later, after Kadru and Vegeta had eaten their fill of wolf meat (including wolf heart) roasted over wolf's bones (the troll long since having burned out and wandered away to sulk), Kadru proved her skills. By sorcery she tanned the fur, and by skill made it into a coat, mittens and boots for herself, a fine high-collared fur cloak for Vegeta, and fur linings for his boots and gloves. The great teeth she took and made small by magic, and kept them in a bag of the great wolf's fur. "Keep these," she said, giving the bag to Vegeta. "They will come in useful someday." 

"Hmmph. I don't see how, but one never knows.." Finally reverted to his normal form, he reveled in the warmth of the white wolf's fur. Only one thing marred the aftermath of his battle with Hati--his left hand. Once again, Vegeta tried to flex it, and could not. From the wrist where the great winter wolf had bitten him, on down to the fingertips, the hand was cold and lifeless--paralyzed. He could neither move it nor channel power through it. "Not good," the prince muttered. 

"Rest," he told Kadru. "Next, Elivagar." The half-moon had not moved in hours; it still stood high above the mountains, half-in and half-out of the netherworld. 

*      *      *      *

Chi-chi sighed; the pansies were wilting. Not enough rain this month, and the craziness with Goku coming back and Vegeta's death and Bulma and the kids staying over and then getting lost and Goku's long dead brother Raditz coming back had played havoc with her gardening schedule. The truth was, she'd completely forgotten to take care of her plants with everything else that had been going on. She tended the flowers while Goten played happily in the dirt pile from this year's vegetable garden. Gohan was away at school, Daddy was taking a nap, and Goku was out fishing--it was just her and Goten and her garden. The half-moon had just risen, and was barely over the horizon. 

Intent on her pansies, the normally alert Chi-chi didn't hear the car coast to a stop part way down the drive, nor see the three men creep up on the house. A fourth, a sallow youth in fatigues and mirror-shades, waited at the car, ready to crank it up and speed away. 

"Who you?" Goten asked. Chi-chi looked up, just in time to see a burly man in a sleeveless shirt and dirty jeans grab her baby. Another man in fatigues smoking a cigarette stood by, an automatic rifle carelessly pointed in her direction. The third man wore dark sunglasses, a fine shirt and slacks, and spoke into a sat-phone. A pistol graced his other hand. 

"HEY! PUT ME DOWN!" Goten yelled, and bit the burly man's arm. 

The man cursed incoherently and smacked Goten in the face with his other hand--big mistake! 

Chi-chi screamed, and power seethed around her--the cigarette-smoker almost dropped his rifle in surprise, and the fancy goon with the sat-phone gawked at her, and started yelling into his phone. 

Cigarette-smoker recovered his rifle just in time to see Chi-chi's charge. Before he could raise his gun, her side-kick caught him in the gut, and he doubled up, gasping--and dropped his rifle. Chi-chi's second strike caught him under the chin--his eyes rolled up and he collapsed in a heap. Out for the count. Chi-chi whirled. 

Burly man was trying desperately to hang on to a wriggling, angry, biting Goten, and not doing too well. Blows didn't seem to bother the angry child (unbeknownst to the thugs, Goten was used to getting hit harder playing with his uncle), but after several bloody bites, the burly guy managed to pin Goten under his arm, holding the kid's hands together behind his back. Then Chi-chi kicked him between the legs, and the burly man stopped doing much of anything except holding himself and screaming. 

Meanwhile, the fancy goon dropped the phone and started screaming "Sekko-Ma! Sekko-Ma! HELP US!" at the top of his lungs. Chi-chi leaped toward him, and silenced him with two blows. 

Chi-chi looked around, with a fierce scowl on her face. All three goons were down, unconscious or helpless, and Goten got to his feet, sputtering indignantly. Chi-chi ran over to him, and hugged him. 

"Oh, Goten baby, it's okay, I stopped the bad men that tried to get you. They won't be bothering you now," she comforted him. 

"How come you don't burn 'em up like Nunk Rats does, Mama?" asked Goten. 

"Because these are human beings, Goten, and we don't kill people unless there is NO other way to protect ourselves, honey." Remind me, she thought grimly to herself, to SPEAK to Goku about his brother's influence. And I used to think those karate bums Kulilin, Muten Roshi, and Yamcha were a bad influence! At least they're not mercenary killers like Raditz--or just plain killers like Vegeta! I don't need Raditz giving Goten the notion that vaporizing people just because they annoy you is a good idea! 

The fancy goon stirred, lifting his bloody head a bit. A smile of triumph flashed across his face. "Sekko-Ma!" He fainted. 

Chi-chi whirled--and a hard, scaly fist slammed her across the jaw. She started to fall, caught herself, and fell back into fighting stance, blinking tears of pain from her eyes as something man-size and dinosaur-like flashed in front of her. A long whip-like tail snapped around and hooked her ankles, throwing her; then a four-toed, clawed foot with one huge gutting claw, curled back, smashed down against her head--and everything went black. 

Goten screamed as his mother fell to the winged dinosaur-thing standing over her. "DADDY! NUNK RATS! HELLLLPPPPP!" The dinosaur-thing bounded over to him, and silenced him with a single kick to the head. 

Scout crouched over the fallen bodies. "You can get up now," he hissed at his fallen flunkies. "You're safe from the unarmed woman and the little boy," he hissed sardonically. "They are ours!" 

Behind Scout, the half-moon hung barely above the horizon. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XI. DOWNSLOPE


	12. XI. Downslope

## XI. DOWNSLOPE

Raditz skimmed low over the treetops, thoroughly delighted. "Raditz to base, everything's working like a charm!" He grinned, and rolled over on his back just for the hell of it. 

"Roger, you're coming in loud and clear. Are you flying upside down, or is our telemetry feed screwed up?" Bulma's voice rang clear as a bell in the scouter's earpiece. 

Raditz laughed, and rolled again. "Just having some fun." He dove down abruptly into the canyon that appeared before him, and swooped up the opposite wall--and continued zooming straight up, climbing thousands of feet in less than a minute. His aura flared around him, a sheet of translucent white flame. "How's this?" 

Bulma whistled over the scouter's commlink. "I've built jets slower than you!" 

Raditz slowed, climbing a bit on sheer momentum as he leveled out. "Heh. I thought we were testing the armor, not me!" 

"And the telemetry, and the scouter's commlink, and calibrating the energy detection circuits," replied Bulma. "Speaking of which, we need to.." 

"..see if the overload cut-out works!" Raditz answered into his scouter's voice pickup. "I know exactly how to do that, too!" He twisted and dove, changing course suddenly. 

"That's not what I meant!" Bulma's voice echoed anxiously in his ear. "We've only got the one prototype so far, don't break it!" 

"And if it breaks, you need to re-design it anyway!" Raditz yelled as he hurtled through the air towards Son Goku's home in the forest. 

(NUNK RATS! HELLLLPPPPP!) 

What the hell? Raditz stopped abruptly in mid-air. I felt--Goten? GOTEN! He's in trouble! Raditz felt for Goten's presence.. and found it, just barely. So weak--he's hurt! The big Saiyan rocketed downward, aura blazing white around him. Ahead of him, the half-moon hung barely above the horizon. 

*      *      *      *

High up the mountain, on the banks of a mountain stream, Goku patiently stalked his prey. The silver trout hovered in the rushing water of the cold stream, oblivious to the patient fingers that tickled its belly, lulling it, nudging it slowly to the surface. 

(!!!) 

Goku gasped and started; a feeling like a sudden blow to his head, yet gone before he could truly feel it. The trout darted away in panic at the sudden move. 

"Chi-chi!" Goku jumped up, and whistled for Kintouen; something had happened to Chi-chi! He leaped upon the magical golden cloud, and sped down the mountain toward the house. 

*      *      *      *

"Alright, already! I think you've got enough rope on her, she's not going to wake up, untie herself and climb out of the trunk anytime soon. Can we get a move on here?" The goon in the expensive shirt scowled at his companions, and glared at the sallow-faced driver. 

The driver giggled, looking down at the helpless bound woman and child. "The big guy is here," he gestured at Scout, who paced restlessly at the end of the road, "so we're safe. Can't we just take a few minutes to have some fun with the kid?" He giggled again, reaching down as if to stroke the unconscious Goten. 

The fancy goon slapped his hand away. "You'll get your chance.. later!" He turned to Scout. "Sekko-Ma! We are done here!" Scout nodded, and flapped away. 

He turned from the demon to look at his companions. The man in fatigues held his jaw, which had a rapidly swelling lump on it; the burly man glared murderously at the unconscious Chi-chi and didn't look like he was ready to take orders from anyone. 

"I said LATER!" the well-dressed gangster snarled. "Get in the car, now!" He slammed the trunk lid shut, and they all got in the car. 

"Are you muttonheads forgetting the plan already? Can't you put off your thrills fer a few lousy hours? You'll get all the fun you like--remember, we're going to be taping the whole thing, and you're to make it last as long as possible." The fancy goon pulled out a gold cigarette case, from which he extracted a cigarette, which he lit with a gold lighter. 

"Okay," growled the burly man. "I'm looking forward to paying that bitch back!" 

"The little boy is mine," giggled the sallow-faced driver. "I like little boys; they scream almost as much as little girls!" 

The other man didn't say anything; his jaw hurt too much, but he nodded agreement with his companions. 

"What about you, Sal?" the burly man asked the fancy goon. 

"You know I like knife-work best," Sal smirked, "so I get my kicks last. I'll just have to let you fellows enjoy yourselves first." 

"You're such a nice guy, Sal," the burly guy grinned evilly. "It may be a while--I can make a fiesty woman like that last a long time." He laughed unpleasantly, and then began to describe in graphic detail what he planned to do to Chi-chi. 

The sallow-faced driver giggled, and contributed the details of his own vile plans for the child. Ahead of them, the half-moon hung barely above the horizon. 

*      *      *      *

Back at Capsule Corp, the technician monitoring Raditz's telemetry looked up, startled. "Ms Bulma? I've just lost all three comm channels from the monitor. He must have lost the commlink." 

"No." Bulma listened intently on her headset. "He turned them off deliberately; I'm still receiving on the private channel." She straightened up abruptly, turning white as she listened. 

*      *      *      *

BANG! CRUNCHHH! The car shuddered under impact, and skidded to a halt, throwing its passengers about. The rear right door burst open under the sudden jolt and the man with the sore jaw, who hadn't been wearing a seat belt, went flying to land on his face in the road. 

"WHAT THE HELL?" screamed Sal the Knife as he fought to free himself from the locked-down seatbelt. The driver was unconscious, his face bleeding where'd he hit the steering wheel. (He hadn't been wearing a seat belt, either). The burly man cursed and flung the left rear door open. 

SOMETHING had smashed into the left front fender, knocking the car off the road, and had ripped the trunk lid clean off. The burly man barely noticed that the trunk was empty before he saw their would-be victims in the arms of the weirdest-looking guy he'd seen short of Sekko-Ma and Keikan-Ma themselves. The thug gaped at the incredibly long-haired, powerfully built man who was FLYING, gently setting the woman and child down at the side of the road, well out of the way. The stranger was clad in a black bodysuit and some kind of white body armor, secured with a silly looking brown fur belt, and he looked angry. 

Sal the Knife finally got loose from his seatbelt and kicked the front right door open and stormed angrily out. "Who the hell do you think you are, asshole?" he challenged, waving his pistol for emphasis. The burly man drew his. 

"I'm the one who couldn't help overhearing your plans," Raditz said, his lips drawn back in a grimace that only a fool would mistake for a smile. Unfortunately for Sal, he was a fool. 

"Right, sure, uh-huh. You don't know who you're messing with, do you? SEKKO-MA!" Sal called. "Odeko, kill this idiot," he ordered the burly man. 

Odeko grinned and leveled his gun at Raditz, pulling the trigger in one smooth move. He pulled it three more times--and stopped grinning. Raditz stood there, smirking, with his closed hand in front of him. He opened it to reveal four mushroomed bullets. 

"I should introduce myself," the big Saiyan said. "I'm Raditz, and the little kid you had plans for is my nephew." He flicked his hand, and tossed the bullets back at Odeko--at full velocity. The burly man went down, four holes blasted through his chest. 

"SEKKO-MA, I really need you NOW!" screamed Sal the Knife as Raditz raised his hand and pointed at him. 

The flap of wings alerted Raditz as he was on the edge of killing Sal. He ducked and spun, to find himself facing a mottled yellow-green winged dinosaur-thing trying to kick him in the face with a very large clawed toe. Raditz flung himself to one side, barely dodging in time--one claw skittered off the white armor. The monster was fast! 

No scouter reading to warn him, nothing at all. "Damn thing doesn't work," Raditz growled. No, he couldn't sense the monster, either, he thought, as he threw energy at it. It dodged to one side with its incredible speed, and threw out its wings to brake itself, a frilled collar on the sides of its head also flaring out. It spat a mouthful of green goo at him; Raditz ducked. He heard a high-pitched scream behind him. 

"Raditsu!" it hissed, looking almost surprised. It flipped its hind legs up, slashing at his face with the oversized, razor-sharp thumbclaws. Raditz blocked it with difficulty--he was far the stronger, but the demon was faster! His aura flamed as Raditz took to the air, striking furiously at the fragile-looking creature. Any one of his blows should have shattered the delicate wing bones, broken the gracile skull--but none of them landed. The dinosaur-demon dodged every one, and darted back, out of reach. Behind him, the screaming went on and on. 

Raditz turned to look; the green goo had caught Sal square in the face, and he was on the ground, convulsing hideously as his face blistered and bled. "Watch out for demon-dinosaur spit," Raditz noted to himself, as he started after the monster. 

*      *      *      *

<Great Deputy! It is he, the weakest adult! Raditsu is here, he takes the prey from us!> Scout cried to his master across their mindlink. 

<Raditz there? Get out of there! NOW!> snarled Deputy. 

<But he is the weakest of the adults, and our prey will be lost!>

<You FOOL! You are supposed to have my wits! We can stalk our prey again, but YOU are not so easy to replace! Flee while you can, he is stronger than you think! I myself will deal with him when the time comes.>

*      *      *      *

The demon flipped itself around, and with a flap of its wings, darted away, skimming low over the treetops. Raditz sent a small barrage of ki blasts winging after it, but it dodged all of them, disappearing below the treetops. Something else was coming in fast in a flash of gold--Kakarott! Riding that weird gold cloud thing of his... 

Chin, the man in the fatigues with the broken jaw crouched beside Sal's corpse and pryed the pistol from his dead hand. He carefully lined up the sights on Chi-chi's unconscious form--yeah, he'd pay the bitch back for hurting him. His finger started to tighten on the trigger.. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Raditz saw the fatigue-wearing man pointing a weapon at Chi-chi who was lying helpless-- 

ZAAACCK! Raditz hit the goon with a single back-handed blast; he burned. "Kakarott! Get that damn monster, I'll deal with the rest of these goons! And watch out for its spit, it's poisonous!" Without looking to see if his brother complied, Raditz dove back to the car. 

Goku swooped to where the mottled green and brown monster had vanished into the trees. He couldn't sense it, and he couldn't see it. It was as if it had vanished into thin air--teleported away, perhaps. No good; he turned back, dropping to land beside Chi-chi and Goten. 

"Chi-chi!" Goku cradled his wife in his arms, anxiously checking her over. Except for a bruise on her face and a lump on her head, she seemed unharmed; likewise his youngest son. He started to remove the ropes binding them. Chi-chi groaned and began to stir. 

Crack! Goku looked up as the last goon died. "Raditz! There was no need for that; he was no threat to you!" 

Raditz looked coldly at Goku, his hand still on the driver's broken neck. "Kakarott--you didn't hear the plans they had for your mate and son; I did. Believe me, there was need." His voice shook with rage. 

"Goku?" Chi-chi said groggily, instantly diverting Goku's attention from Raditz again. He hurriedly removed the rest of the ropes. 

"Chi-chi? Are you all right? What happened?" Goku was frantic with worry. 

"Goku? Where's Goten? They tried to kidnap my baby!" Chi-chi struggled out of Goku's arms, and gathered up Goten, looking him over. "He's hurt; that monster must have kicked him in the head like he did me!" She cradled Goten, worrying over him, until he started to wake up. 

"They tried to kidnap BOTH of you," Raditz growled. He stood beside the wrecked car, studying several items in his hands. Then he touched a button on the side of his new scouter. 

"Bulma! You still there? Good. Some goons and a monster tried to kidnap Goten and Chi-chi; we interrupted them. Yes, I cut off the three monitored channels deliberately--some things are more convenient if NOT recorded. Never mind that now. Can you and Mr. Hiregumi find something out about the goons attached to these names?" Raditz read off four names and addresses from the driver's licenses in his hand. 

Goku stared at him. "Raditz, what are you doing?" 

Raditz half-smiled at Goku, and tapped the scouter again, cutting the commlink. "Mr. Hiregumi, Capsule Corp's chief of security, isn't much of a warrior--though I suppose he's dangerous enough to scum like this," Raditz nudged Odeko's corpse with a booted toe, "but I learned things from him I never imagined possible about the investigative side of security. Heh." Raditz glanced keenly at his brother. "I would very much like to know why these bastards came after my nephew and your mate, because.." he paused significantly, "they may try it again. And I'd REALLY like to know where that poison-acid spitting dinosaur from hell came from!" 

Chi-chi shuddered. "He was too fast and too strong for me. The men came first, they tried to kidnap Goten, but I stopped them--" 

"So you're the one who broke that other idiot's jaw! Explains why he tried to finish you. Good job." Raditz interrupted, pointing offhand at the smoking corpse in fatigues. 

Chi-chi glared angrily at Raditz, and then smiled grimly as she realized: he's impressed! He didn't know I could fight! Hmmm.. "I stopped them," she continued. "But the last one called that dinosaur-demon; 'Sekko-Ma', he named it. I didn't sense it coming--I turned around and there it was, hitting me. It was so fast! I guess it must have knocked out Goten, too." She leaned against her husband, taking comfort in his strong arms. "If it weren't for you, Goku..." 

Goku hugged Chi-chi, but looked slightly embarassed. "Ah, Chi-chi, I got here late, didn't do more than see tail of demon flying away. Raditz did well." He looked at his brother. "Raditz, thank you for saving Chi-chi and Goten." Goku looked puzzled. "How'd you get here so fast? And where did you get the armor and scouter?" 

"They're Bulma's new prototypes. I like 'em already, though we still need to calibrate the scouter. I'm here because, well, I sort of 'heard' Goten yelling for help, calling me." He shrugged. 

"Ah. You're telepathic like me and Vegeta, aren't you?" Goku looked mysteriously pleased. 

"I.. don't know, exactly. I used to be, a little bit--I felt it when father died, when all Vegetasai died. I never was close enough to anyone, friend or enemy, after that, to develop that kind of bond." Raditz shrugged again. 

His brother seemed delighted for no reason that Raditz could fathom. "You are now." 

*      *      *      *

In downtown Satan City, Sean Nixon was not so delighted; in fact, he was drunk and demoralized. 

"Snakebite." He managed to look coherent enough for the bartender at the club to brew him another of the potent drinks. Yeah, next morning he'd have a hell of a headache, and everything would still be gone, but for now, Sean didn't care. 

All the work he'd done over the last few weeks--gone. He'd still been online, in his VirtualBlack guise, when the computer panicked and crashed on him. It had taken him hours to get it up and running again--he'd had to re-install the entire system--and that's when he found out he'd been wiped. Everything not backed up had been trashed, erased, obliterated beyond recovery. Even worse, his net archives had been methodically located and erased as well. 

Worst of all, the "Dreams" folder--his paintings-- had been destroyed. Those he had no backups of; he'd wanted to be able to destroy them completely and quickly if necessary. But it hadn't been necessary! They were Sean's art, his unique creations, his children.. Sean slammed down the Snakebite. He suddenly didn't want to be here anymore. He just wanted to go home and be miserable alone. 

It was no better at home. Sean sat, brooding, on his couch in the dark apartment, until he fell asleep. While he slept, he dreamed--nightmare vistas of hellish domains, populated by a grim warrior race with monkey-like tails. Other things, too, intruded on his dreams--leering goat demons and fierce bull-headed monsters, corpse-devouring dragons and serpents of darkness. 

He awoke with a start. It was full dark, except for a dim light through the window. Sean's head throbbed, and his mouth felt like he'd eaten tar sand all night. He sat up, and moaned in pain. 

"I can't believe I got that drunk--why do I do this to myself? Every damn time I wake up with a hangover, I remember why I don't like to get plastered like that.. and after a few months, I forget how much it hurts, and do it again. Sean, you are a dumbass!" he scolded himself. 

"Why is it so bright in here?" he complained to no one in particular, as he got up and looked out the window. The moon hung just above the horizon, a few degrees past full. Sean scratched his head; something didn't seem quite right about that. Oh well, astronomy had never been one of his good subjects. 

Art now.. art had always been his best subject. He loved to paint, to create scenes never seen before--even with the risks. Only.. all his paintings and images were gone! Everything he had done--burned or erased. Sean's head hurt, and a dull anger at the hand fate dealt him seethed inside. Something in Sean rebelled; he would paint, and to Hell with the consequences! 

He rummaged around the back of his closets until he found it; one blank canvas left over from years ago, and his box of paints and brushes. For some reason he'd never thrown them out, and Sean thanked the teacher who'd always made him put his supplies away properly, no matter how soon or how long before he planned to use them again. All the brushes were still in good shape, and many of the tubes of paint were salvageable. 

Sean set up the canvas on his easel, and started sketching out the scene that burned in his mind's eye. Burned was a good word, he thought ironically, for the throneroom of a king in Hell. The king, Sean decided, was the father of the demon prince from his previous two drawings--now vanished with the rest of his computer files. He would be taller than the diminutive prince, and bearded, with chestnut brown hair, Sean thought as he sketched out the scene. His white-cloaked guards with the fur tails wrapped around their waists lined the throneroom on either side, and before him another white-cloaked warrior knelt and bowed his head... 

*      *      *      *

In Hell, Commander Kale knelt before King Vegeta and made his report. "Forgive me, sire, but the news is not the best. The remaining broo and other lesser demons have gone to ground in the Pit of Worms, and it is taking much time to root them out one beast at a time." The Saiyan warrior glanced up, trying to gauge how well his king was taking the news. King Vegeta continued frowning, and gestured at him to continue. 

"Some of the men have reported odd.. disturbances, sire. I don't know entirely what to make of it, sire, but I believe that someone may be trying to summon the broo.. to Earth." 

King Vegeta sighed wearily. "Is it my curse for killing you, Kale, that you are always the bearer of evil news? First the death of the Prince at Frieza's hands, then the arrival of that Cell creature, the great demon's attack on the rift, my son's second death by that demon.. and this." 

"Not by my intention, sire, but.. if my death was indeed necessary to appease Frieza over the Planet Tsaba matter long enough for you to gather the forces to strike at him--as you did--it would have been good to have had the chance to volunteer, sire." Commander Kale bowed his head. 

Kale's reproach stung like the lash of a scorpion-tailed whip. "Frieza had to be appeased because you were overly optimistic in the first place!" King Vegeta snarled. The damned king then sighed; he knew the bitter truth. "And in the end, it mattered not--three hours, three days, three years would not have been enough... not against Freiza.. and Frieza had already decided our doom." King Vegeta bowed his head. "Forgive me for wasting your life, Kale. You were--you ARE--a good and loyal commander, and deserved better." It was the hardest thing he'd ever said, in life or death. 

Commander Kale looked up at his monarch, surprised, for a long moment. "It is forgiven, sire. As you say, sire.. in the end, it mattered not at all. We were all brought to the same doom; I merely got here a day sooner." 

*      *      *      *

On Earth, Sinhika received ill news of her own. "I don't believe this! Every one of my credit cards just happens to be cancelled at once? No." She skimmed the rest of her e-mail. "A-ha! Here's one from Khara; I'll bet he has something to do with this!" 
    
    
        ...it is father's desire that you return home, dear
        sister. Again, I add my concern to his and implore you to
        return.  It is only concern for your safety that impels me to
        these actions; I cannot sit idly by and let you use the
        treasury to finance your own destruction. Accordingly, I have
        suspended your access to all instruments of the Lankha
        treasury, with one exception: you will be permitted to arrange
        airline flights back to Serendip. I hope that good sense will
        prevail and you will return immediately, but if not, I'm sure
        that pragmatism will win out in the end--I know you well
        enough, Sinhika, to know that poverty and hunger do not suit
        you at all.
    
    		    Your elder brother,
    		    Khara, Prince of Lankha
    

"YOU BASTARD!" Sinhika screamed at the offending e-mail. "I can't believe Father had you do this!" She re-read the letter. "No--if Father required me to return home, all he had to do was command it, as his royal perogative, and I would return. He knows that. This is Khara's doing, and ONLY Khara's doing! Father probably wishes I would return home, worries about me, and would be pleased if I came home, but he's not insisting on it. No, my oh-so-helpful big brother took it on himself to get me to come home." 

Sinhika paced the apartment and growled. "You're not going to have your way, Khara! I will NOT come crawling back home just because you think you know what is best for me! There is too much happening here--too much that touches on our duty, and my destiny." 

The orange-haired rakshasa thought a bit. "Two things: either get my credit cards and accounts reinstated somehow, or.. get a job." Sinhika sat down at the computer. "Didn't Pomona say that cute boyfriend of hers was something of a hacker? I'll go talk to Sean, then." She typed rapidly. "Meanwhile, let's start looking for possible employment, just in case..." 

*      *      *      *

In Niflheim, the snow howled past Vegeta's face, and he reveled in it. Yes! I have defeated my deadliest enemy here, that infernal cold! And whatever benefit Kadru got from that bit of peach seems to have stopped her continual whining. 

Prince Vegeta rose higher, Kadru in his arms, flying above the frozen black river of ice that cracked and heaved as sheer ice pressure forced it to move slowly downstream. Great slabs of ice buckled and overrode each other as the relentless flow pushed the ice along the bed of the Gioll, grinding everything in its path like a glacier, yet moving almost as fast as a river during spring breakup. 

"WHAT THE??" 

Vegeta slammed to a halt in mid-air, his aura flaring around him. Ahead, Nifleheim.. ended. The Prince of the Saiyajin looked down into Elivagar. Mountains bowed down, crumbled into a roaring cauldron of blackness that vomited out slabs of tainted ice, ice that crashed and thundered down the bed of the river, or shattered against the mountains into crystals of black slush. Like a volcano of ice, it flung bombs of ice high into the air--Vegeta dodged one that came his way--and spewed clouds of ice crystals and snow high, high into the air, fuelling the perpetual blizzard that raged across Niflheim. 

Great as Elivagar was, an even greater marvel shadowed it. Plunging into poisoned Elivagar was one tremendous root, a root that ran up a mountain and into the sky, to join something Vegeta could barely make out in the ice fog and snow--something that looked like a tree. But what a tree! The very mountains were bumps under its roots, and it rose beyond imagining. 

"Yggdrasil.." Vegeta shielded his eyes against the snow, craning his head to look at the fabled World Tree. 

"How do you know all these things? Are you a scholar as well as a warrior?" Princess Kadru queried. 

"I? I am a warrior, the greatest of warriors, and the prince of a warrior race. Prince Khara of Lankha, on the other hand, is not much of a warrior--no more than mediocre--but he is a brilliant scholar! He also has the rare ability to summarize intelligently, missing none of the important points, yet adding nothing unnecessarily. When I get around to conquering the galaxy, I'll want someone like him on my General Staff. Maybe I'll offer Khara himself the job." Vegeta chuckled, feeling pleased with himself. 

He looked down at Elivagar again, suddenly less pleased. Yes! Vegeta scowled; he could feel it, ever so faintly--that foulness, that unnatural taint that marked the demon and its kin. Was this the taste of Chaos? Just where did the well of Elivagar spring from? In all the legends Khara had found, it welled up from nowhere, from outside the very universe. 

Vegeta dropped Kadru on a horizontal stretch of Yggdrasil's root, and hovered over the heart of the maelstrom. Now and again he dodged a splinter of ice the size of a building, thrown up by Elivagar's violence. Something down there in the heart of darkness beckoned to him, called him with a song of blood and violence and terror. 

Kadru found no such attraction in this place of primal ice and evil. She clung desperately to the ice-slick root of the World Tree, and peered down, trying to watch Vegeta through the ice fog and snow. The snake-princess observed several ragged holes and tears in the side of the root below her, holes that looked as if something had been chewing splintered chunks out of the root. "I don't like this," she muttered to herself. "Prince Vegeta! Where are you going?" 

Unhearing, Vegeta looked down into the maelstrom, descending slowly--unbeknownst to him. Something moved down there, something besides the heaving black ice. A dim phosphorensce moved, rising sinously toward him. Without thinking, he descended further, trying to get a better view of the thing. 

His eyes went wide as a great white worm-thing surged into view. Nearly as big as the Eternal Dragon Shen Long, and far more loathsome, Nidhogg the Corpse-Tearer rose from Elivagar. It was the pallid white of a stiffening corpse, its soft and bloated skin suggesting decay. Frills of writhing tendrils like so many maggots edged its spine and made an obscene mane over its neck and head. Blunt chisel teeth filled its gaping maw, and huge dull grey eyes like those of a dead fish looked up at the dead prince. 

Nidhogg sang. Its song was a thrumming vibration that shattered the ice into black slush, a wordless song of blood and violence and terror that called to Vegeta, lured him ever downward. I know you, you are mine, it called. Something in the back of Vegeta's mind tried to warn him that this was wrong, he was coming too close--too late! Vegeta looked into the dead grey eyes of the Corpse-Tearer, and was caught. 

Prince Vegeta did not see that cloudy orb as large as himself; instead he saw Nappa die again by his hand, felt his own rage and seething power turned against his lifelong mentor--and felt, too, what Nappa had felt--shock, a terrible hurt and betrayal as the hand he thought extended to help him turned into the instrument of his death, the swift agony of death at the hand of his revered Prince-- and then came every other person he'd ever killed in cold blood. He lived again every murder he'd ever committed, feeling both his own hate and their agony. 

He was vaguely aware that he'd lost control of himself, and was no longer flying. Vegeta fell heavily into the icy slush covering Elivagar's inner slope, and started to slide downward, helpless in the grip of Nidhogg's gaze. Instinctively he clawed at the ice, trying to stop himself, but there was very little strength in the small part of his soul not trapped by the Corpse-Tearer, and the one hand was still useless. Still, he slowed himself--and then came Arlia. 

Vegeta lost himself completely for a time, as his self-hate-driven murder of the world he'd rescued from its tyrant king exploded again in his memories. When that was past, he became vaguely aware that his downward slide had stopped--in Nidhogg's jaws. It had him up to the waist; his hands were pressed against the chisel teeth crushing his ribs, feebly trying to stop the monster from devouring him completely. 

You fool! that unthralled bit of the back of his mind raged at him. Nidhogg the Corpse-Tearer is this hell's Cleanser of Souls--the one who devours wicked souls and strips them of their evil, their memories, and their power! When he's done with me, all that will be left of me will be a mindless wisp of spirit, if anything! No more Prince of the Saiyajin, no more Vegeta, no more ME! 

Now he understood the bitter significance of Indrajit's parting words: "You have ever been your own worst enemy--beware, lest darkness within betray you to darkness without!" NO! This cannot be! If I end here--NO! Kakarott! Trunks! Bulma! I WILL NOT FAIL YOU! 

"BULMA!" he screamed as the chisel teeth slammed down, shattering his ribs. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XII. DARK HEART


	13. XII. Dark Heart

## XII. DARK HEART

"BULMA!" Bulma started awake, blurry and confused for a moment. 

"Vegeta?" Where was he? She'd heard him call her name in desperate anguish--no, wait. Bulma's head cleared, as she remembered where she was and when. She was at home, and Vegeta--was dead. Had been dead for months. The familiar ache in her soul gnawed at her, and the tears ran down her face. 

"But I heard him." Bulma got up and drew on a nightgown. "Where are you, Vegeta? And when will you come back to me?" There was no answer, nor did she really expect any. Last week's dream.. perhaps it was just a dream. Perhaps not.. the scent of him had lingered in the air. 

A pale half-moon hung just above the horizon, highlighting the lonely bedroom in moonlight and shadows. Bulma watched the moon, puzzled. "Something is very, very wrong." She went to her bookshelf and started digging around. "Ah ha, Daily Almanac. Moon phases. Oh, my." She looked at the moon again, and looked at the almanac again, and reached for the telephone. 

"..uh huh... assumed a geosynchronous orbit.. hmmm..." 

After a long conversation, she hung up. "Well. So the 'learned astronomers' have no idea, and are trying to figure out how to make it public before everyone panics." She stared hard at the moon. "What could possibly have stopped the moon in its orbit? And why?" 

*      *      *      *

In Niflheim, Vegeta shuddered in agony as Nidhogg's venom seeped into his wounded spirit. He had no strength left; the poison stole what little had remained untrapped by the Corpse-Tearer's gaze. Only a terrible regret was left--regret that he would not see or even remember Bulma, or Trunks, or Kakarott, or Gohan or any of them, ever again; regret that he had failed them and failed himself; regret that all memory and knowledge of everything he'd been and seen and done would soon be gone forever; and bitterest of all, the knife-sharp regret for the things he had done half-mad with hate and rage for so many bitter years--the deeds were not worth the cost. 

What was the temporary quenching of anger in someone's blood, the lashing out in a moment's hate to kill, worth? What satisfaction did they give in the end? None that lasted. Worthless, compared to holding Her in his arms; nothing, compared to a wonderful, precious violet-haired son, his flesh and blood and power; and empty, compared to the rivalry (or was it something more?) with his comrade/enemy/rival/ally Kakarott. 

The agony receded, and a strange lassitude replaced it. Vegeta's eyes closed, he struggled no more. Crushed and broken in the jaws of the Corpse-Tearer, he awaited oblivion. 

*      *      *      *

Oblivion did not take him. Nidhogg suddenly spasmed and heaved his head high into the air; fresh agony tore through Vegeta as Nidhogg spat him out. The Corpse-Tearer's thrumming song changed to a high wail of agony. The Saiyan prince tumbled through the air; below him, Nidhogg thrashed like a headless snake, clawing madly at one darkened eye. Still too weak to move, let alone fly, Vegeta could only stare in wonder; above the Corpse-Tearer, tail coiled tightly around a splinter of Yggdrasil's root, a monstrous cobra flared its hood and spat venom into the death worm's eye. 

Elivagar whirled beneath the prince; a monstrous slab of ice, tumbling end over end as it flew into the air caught him and carried him with it. By what miracle the ice slab shattered on Yggdrasil's root with him atop the slab rather than crushed beneath, Vegeta never knew. He sprawled lifeless on the root of the World Tree, weaker than a newborn kitten--but still himself. He was still Prince Vegeta of the Saiyajin. 

The moon-wolf's fur warmed him, and the horrid lassitude left his soul. Vegeta's mind started working again. "How in all the hells did a giant spitting cobra appear in the middle of Elivagar to attack--of course! I am an idiot! Kadru! So that's what she looks like in her snake form!" 

With some effort Vegeta managed to move his right hand; he had that much strength back. With a great deal more painful effort, he rolled himself over and crawled to where he could peer over the vast root into Elivagar. Now that Nidhogg's spell was broken, the Saiyan prince felt stronger with every instant that passed; yet more strength seemed to flow into him from the World Tree. 

"What is that stupid snake doing now? Ah!" Vegeta smirked, watching as a blinded Nidhogg sank into the depths, fleeing its small, vicious tormentor. Apparently satisfied, Kadru the Cobra tried to reverse herself and crawl back up the splinter of root she clung to, but slipped back repeatedly, foiled by the slick ice glazing the root. She perservered; as Vegeta watched, she slowly, doggedly crawled up the root in spiral coils, one laborious foot after another. 

Vegeta chuckled, painfully. "She's persistant, I'll give her that." He rolled over on his back, a slightly less painful position, and began the agonizing task of putting his ribs back in place. Spectral bones knitted as the strength returned to his soul, but it was no less painful for that. "Raditz knew what he was talking about," Vegeta muttered to himself. "It feels like I've been beaten to death by Frieza all over again. Ayyyy-yaahhh!" 

"What?" That sense of foulness, again--welling up, rising, intensifying. At the same time, Elivagar's roar seem to change, become deeper, more threatening. Vegeta hauled himself stiffly to his feet, and looked down. 

The cauldron of Elivagar was dark as night, and clouds of black ice crystals swirled around it like the eye-wall of a hurricane. Kadru still struggled up the lower root, and the darkness below began to rise. 

" _Kuso_!" Vegeta blazed with power, and plunged into the cauldron. The foulness intensified into a burning ache--he felt again the monstrous stinger plunged into his back, and the poison that burned through his nerves--the taste of his own blood filled his mouth. He flung both arms around the Kadru-cobra's body, and rocketed up, out of Elivagar. 

Energy crackled around him, and his hair blazed golden as he hurtled the length of the Gioll carrying Kadru the Naga. Behind him, the raging fury of Elivagar exploded in darkness. The hellish concussion nearly swatted Vegeta from the sky; a shard of wood larger than a skyscraper tumbled past him to impale a nearby mountain. He glanced back once. 

Darkness filled the sky, lit along the length of the World Tree by weird green flashes. Luminous green sap dripped from the cracked and twisted root of Yggdrasil; the mountains surrounding Elivagar were cracked and shattered, tops blown away. Something screamed in anger and rage, and a great howl answered from ahead--Garm! Hel's hound bayed his warning to all Niflheim. Vegeta caught a momentary glimpse of something huge and winged, tailed and toothed and all vile, rearing up where Elivagar's cauldron had raged. He did not need another glance--the ache in his chest, the foul taste in his mouth told Vegeta--THIS was his enemy! 

"Time!" Vegeta realized. "Somehow I got to Niflheim BEFORE the demon did! He's only now tearing his way through to the next hell! I don't believe this--it's insane! I don't dare fight him here before I fought him on Earth; who knows what future THAT would create!" 

Behind him, Cacodemon, Chaos demon of Death and Disorder, rose howling from Elivagar, another layer closer to the World, and his ordained prey. Vegeta did not look back again. 

*      *      *      *

"SEAN! I know you're in there, open up this door before I kick it in!" Sinhika was not in the mood for patience. She'd knocked repeatedly on the door for a good ten minutes, and she knew Sean was home--she could sense his presence. 

Before she could bang on the door again, Sean flung it open from inside, and stood there glowering at her. His black hair was tousled and matted, he was unshaven, shirtless and barefoot. He blinked, obviously just awake. 

"What?" he scowled. 

"Yeah, I'm happy to see you, too." Sinhika pushed her way inside, and hooked the door shut with her foot. "I need the services of VirtualBlack." 

Sean gave her the finger, then reconsidered. "What for, you want to get even with some ex-boyfriend? I don't do that kind of crap. Just security work--or are you paying?" He ran his fingers through his air, trying to straighten out the mess. 

"Paying is the problem. One of my dear family members got my credit cards and bank accounts cancelled. ALL of them. I need at least one of them reinstated." Sinhika laid her cards on the table. "Or, I need to get a decent job in time to pay next month's rent." She smiled wryly. 

At least I won't go hungry, she thought. Two more attempts to knock over temples and kidnap priests in the last two days--who the heck are these people? I can't let Khara run me out of town now--something is going on that I need to get to the bottom of. 

Sean frowned abruptly. "I guess you'll have to get a paying job. I don't do banks; that kind of hacking gets you hard time. They call it bank fraud, and where I come from, it's 10-20 years of making little rocks out of big ones." He looked curiously at her. "You're an adult; how could 'a family member' get YOUR accounts cancelled?" 

Sinhika paced about the small living room. "They weren't exactly MY accounts; more like expense accounts on the family treasury. I should have just drawn enough off and set up my own independent accounts, but I was lazy, and didn't think Khara--my brother--would pull a stunt like this. _Achintya_!" 

She looked Sean over. "You're cute without your shirt, but you look like you've been pulled through a knothole. Howsa'bout I make you dinner?" 

"Uhhhh..." Sean's jaw dropped. He gulped as he came to his senses. The incredibly gorgeous and graceful Sinhika was in HIS apartment, telling him he looked good shirtless, and he, Sean, had been acting like a complete boor. Where the hell was his brain? On the floor with his shirt, apparently. "..sure!" He twisted his face into a smile. "I'll go get cleaned up, there's some beer in the fridge, help yourself," he babbled as he headed for the shower. 

While he was gone, Sinhika prowled around the apartment and inspected the kitchen. "Hmm.. hasn't cleaned the stove since he moved in, and washes dishes once a month whether they need it or not. Typical bachelor. Hmm.. hmmm.. need to pick up a few things." 

A bit later, Sean emerged from the shower; Sinhika was nowhere in sight. "I knew it was too good to be true," he muttered, and then spotted the note on the table. 

"GONE TO GET PIZZA STUFF -- Sinhika" 

"Pizza? Where the hell is she getting pizza? There's no decent pizza to be had this side of the Pacific Ocean!" Sean frowned. 

A few minutes later, Sinhika came in the door with a bag of groceries. 

Sean looked at her, puzzled. "I thought you were getting pizza." 

"No, I was getting the stuff for MAKING pizza. Here, put these cokes in the fridge--got to have caffeine to cut the grease." 

"Home-made pizza?" Sean was astonished. "Do you know how long it's been since I've had decent pizza? You are making me so homesick!" 

Sinhika smiled at him. "Think of it as a bribe," she suggested sweetly. 

Sean stopped abruptly and shook his head. "Uh-uh. It ain't worth hard time." 

"Okay, help me find a job. Database searches, corporate job postings, that sort of thing. And tell me about that painting you're working on," she added casually as she started mixing the pizza dough. 

"Uh, er, it's a painting," he said defensively. 

"Well, duh. Even the beautiful but bubble-brained Sinhika can figure that out," she said, winking at him. "I just wondered if you like, used models from around here, or something." 

"No, I don't use models at all. Why do you ask?" Sean asked slowly. 

Sinhika shrugged. "Your king reminds me of someone I've met--couldn't quite place my finger on who, though." As she was putting the pizza in the oven, Sinhika said, "Pomona told me you didn't paint anymore. What's the story here?" 

Sean's face became expressionless. "Just.. artistic block, I guess. It happens," Sean lied. 

Boy, you are a lousy liar! Sinhika thought. That painting of yours just reeks of magic, and your tall, sinister, handsome brown-haired king looks like he could be a close relative of Ghost Prince Vegeta. Not to mention the device on his armor, which matches that on the armor of the Ghost Prince himself. 

"Whatever," she said cheerily. 

Later, much later, she asked Sean again. "What is the story with your paintings?" She snuggled against him on the couch. Amazing how his shyness and inhibitions had dropped away after six or seven drinks.. amazing how well she had hidden the beer behind the illusionary color and taste of coke. 

Sean sighed. "I never did tell Pomona the real reason I dropped out of art school and burned all my paintings--I just let her think it was depression." He looked at her, worried. "You won't laugh, will you? Even if you don't believe it?" 

Sinhika shook her head solemnly. "Of course not!" 

Sean leaned his head on his elbow. "It started with vivid dreams, in art school. I needed inspiration, so I used my dreams--I painted them. I was getting fairly good, though I didn't know it--I liked to paint in a realistic style, and my modernist professors didn't approve of realism--they wanted abstracts and 'interpretive' art, so I never got good grades from them." He took another drink. "Anyway, my paintings would.. change. I'd paint them, and go away, and the next day, things would have changed. At first it was just background details, things only I would notice because I painted them, but then whole foreground subjects would disappear! Or new ones appear--I wasn't sure what was worse." 

"'Foreground subjects'?" Sinhika raised an eyebrow. 

"A nice neutral way of saying monsters.. demons. That was the kind of thing I dreamed about and painted." Sean laughed ironically. He frowned. "When it was only background details I dismissed it as just harmless weirdness..." He gulped another drink. "But when the demons started disappearing from the pictures, and I started hearing voices in the night, and seeing things out of the corner of my eye.. I started getting scared. I thought I was going crazy." Sean fell silent. 

"What then?" Sinhika prompted. 

Sean shook his head. "Then my roommate started to see and hear.. things. The last straw was when me, my roommate, his girl, my girl were all together, and we saw THE THING FROM MY PAINTING. Right in the middle of the hall, plain as you are standing there." Sean finished his drink. "It was the dripping wet footprints that convinced me. After that, I burned the paintings." 

"What you're saying is.." Sinhika ventured cautiously. 

"--that my paintings have a nasty habit of coming to life!" He yawned, and laid his head in Sinhika's lap. "I told Pomona I didn't paint anymore, but I never really stopped. I just did them on computer for the last few years--they never seemed to get out of hand that way. Only my computer was trashed, and I was mad, so I started painting for real again." Sean murmured sleepily. "The demons are different now--they look almost like people. Maybe they aren't the same.. kind.. of.. monsters..." His eyes closed; Sean slept. 

Sinhika gently stroked his black hair. "Oh, Sean, I played a dirty trick on you, getting you drunk so I could find out about your magic painting." She kissed him lightly. "I'll make it up to you one of these days--you're too cute and too sweet for me to be so mean to you." She extracted herself carefully without waking Sean, putting a spare pillow under his head instead. 

She stepped into the tiny second bedroom Sean used as a combination computer room and studio, and studied the painting. The king who reminded her of the Ghost Prince, his white-cloaked guards, the other scar-faced warrior in the red cape standing beside the king, the bull-headed demons--her eyes narrowed. She recognized the latter from last night's temple; she'd taken the form of one of the bull-headed temple guardians. 

"Gozu Oni... these aren't just 'demons' as Sean thinks, these are protectors of the divine order! They don't get involved unless the gods are involved---or those appointed by the gods, like the rulers of Hell. What is the purpose of this picture? From Sean's account, this must be some kind of summoning magic, or a rift. But why this bunch? And what is that infernal king's connection to the Ghost Prince?" 

At that moment, the building shook, and the easel swayed ever so slightly. Sinhika's hand brushed the painting, and she snatched it back guiltly. She looked it over; no paint. "Guess it was dry already. That was a good thing; it would be a shame to ruin Sean's masterpiece because of a little earth tremor." She dismissed the minor earthquake without further thought; they were a daily occurence here, on the edge of the Pacific plate. 

"Time to go; I don't think Sean needs to worry about that lot climbing out of his painting and eating his neighbors. If they're what I think they are, they can't even go to the next room without filing a report in triplicate first, let alone do something like come to Satan City and cause trouble!" Sinhika let herself out the door. 

Behind her, the painting shimmered, responding to the touch of the demon girl... 

*      *      *      *

"Where's Kakarott?" Raditz asked abruptly as Chi-chi opened the kitchen door. 

Raditz and Trunks had just arrived for Trunks' training--since the attempt on Chi-chi and Goten, Goku was staying close to home, where he could keep an eye on them, and training Trunks and Gohan there. Chi-chi rather liked it that way--Goku and her sons would be home for dinner on time, for once, and Raditz and Trunks would happily eat anything she put in front of them. However... 

Chi-chi glared at Raditz, arms crossed. She'd had about enough of both Raditz and Vegeta's bad manners--Vegeta she couldn't do anything about (and besides, he was dead), but Raditz was another story. If he thought Chi-chi was going to let him hang around and teach his rudeness and bad attitude to little Goten, Raditz had another think coming. 

"I don't believe I know anyone by that name," Chi-chi answered. 

"What?? Woman, don't play games with me! Where's Kakarott? I'd find him myself, but he's got his ki down low," Raditz growled, looking impatient. Behind him, Trunks watched, wide-eyed. 

Chi-chi's voice was frosty. "My name is not 'woman', it's Chi-chi--or more properly in your case, Mrs. Son." 

"What?" Raditz looked confused and irritated. "What is this foolishness? You're my brother's mate, not a stranger!" 

"First, I'm Goku's WIFE, not his 'mate', and second, if I had a brother-in-law, I would think that he would know my name and his own brother's name!" Chi-chi's voice dropped well below freezing. As Chi-chi continued to glare, Trunks smiled, and put his hand over his mouth to stop himself from giggling out loud. 

Raditz blinked, completely bewildered. He scowled, started to say something, and stopped abruptly--a sudden hunch that he was walking on VERY dangerous ground. He gritted his teeth. "Chi-chi! Just tell me where Kak--my brother is! Please. I promised him I'd bring Trunks over today." 

Chi-chi frowned only slightly. "GOKU said he'd be up around the first waterfall on White Cloud Stream, and to meet him there. It's--" 

"I know where it is," Raditz said impatiently. "That's where he took the kids fishing. Trunks," he nodded to the purple-haired lad. "let's fly; you do need the practice." He started to leave, when Chi-chi interrupted him. 

"Oh, one more thing. You can tell GOKU that if he's late for dinner, he gets cold rice and yesterday's soup. You, too." 

Raditz looked slightly worried; behind him, Trunks looked very worried. "I'll.. tell him. We won't run late, I'll make sure of that!" 

*      *      *      *

Hours later in the afternoon, after training and some impromptu sparring between Raditz and Goku, and a fine dinner that everyone had showed up for on time (much to Trunks' relief--he'd been terrified of getting nothing but leftover soup), Raditz and Goku found themselves alone on Chi-chi's new back deck. (One of the things keeping Goku busy was catching up on the last two years of projects and maintenance...) 

Goku watched his brother. Raditz looked toward the horizon, at the mountains and hills and forest; he seemed to be about to say something several times, and then stopped. Finally he looked at Goku. 

"Kakarrot.. why are these things so hard for me, and so easy for you? You seem to know what is right as if by instinct, and just do it--while I had to struggle just to understand why what I did was wrong! Damn it, Kakarott, I think the only good and useful thing I did in my life the first time around was die!" Raditz leaned hard on the new railing of twisted wrought iron, hands gripping it tightly, arms tense. 

"Raditz.." Goku looked at his brother, his face unusually serious and thoughtful. "How did you miss learning that murder is wrong?" 

"How did I miss that basic lesson?" Raditz laughed bitterly. "You should know enough about us Saiyajin to know that by now! I was taught.. I believed that killing your enemies in battle was right, and that all non-Saiyajin were enemies--if they were even people." He shrugged. "Weaklings were always despised, and weaklings who were different from us--aliens--well.. animals, vermin of some kind is all they were." 

"And even if I had believed differently.. like Diive.." Raditz sighed. "You wouldn't know about Nappa's eldest son, Diive. Vegeta would not have told you about him." He looked away, and a certain sadness seem to settle over him like a cloak. 

"Diive? Was he a friend of yours?" 

"No, he.. died before I became an adult warrior. But we all.. knew." Raditz's knuckles were white where he clenched the railing. "Diive was Nappa's eldest, his favorite and favored son. He was an elite warrior like his father, and led the attack on many tough, civilized worlds, and would handle the surrenders of those we or Frieza permitted to survive as slaves. That's where he got into trouble--he got to know other peoples.. as people. Someone you could talk to, rather than just mowing them down in battle." Raditz smiled wryly. "He committed the cardinal sin of falling in love with a woman who was not Saiyajin." 

Goku looked at his brother, questioning. "This is bad?" 

"For our ways, our customs then--yes. Remember, we saw non-Saiyajin as little better than animals. I suppose a low-class warrior might dally with some non-Saiyajin female and get away with it--but Diive was a noble, and he didn't stop with an night's pleasure, he fell in love with her, bonded with her, and brought her with him. He rescued the woman and her family and tried to protect them, when the order was to clear her world." 

"By 'clear', you mean murder all of them!" 

"Yes, I mean exactly that. I think Diive might have gotten away with it even so, except for one thing--he was Nappa's son, and Nappa had enemies. There was a faction that didn't like Nappa or his influence with the Prince, and wanted him ousted--which is another way of saying killed, of course--and their own man to replace Nappa as Prince Vegeta's teacher. Somehow they found out about Diive's indiscretion, and brought the matter before the king, in open court." Raditz bowed his head before continuing. 

"It couldn't be ignored then, and the challenge to Nappa was also an challenge to the king, as the conspirators well knew. They probably thought that Nappa would try to defend his son, and the king would be forced to remove--sorry, kill--Nappa to show his power to those who defied his authority." Raditz was grim. "Nappa did what he had to do; he condemned his own son, and carried out the execution himself." 

"What Diive did was treason, though now I can finally see that he did it for love and there was no harm in it for the Saiyajin, and he died a traitor's death. Blinded, mutilated, staked out in the desert to die by no man's hand--a slave's death, not a warrior's--dishonored and his name forgotten and cursed. And before he was executed, Diive was forced to watch the deaths of his mate and her family." 

He looked away for a moment. "Nappa was never the same afterwards. After that, he led the attacks on the toughest alien worlds, and his ruthlessness was unparalleled, even for a Saiyan...." 

Goku shuddered, remembering the huge Saiyan's brutal attacks on Gohan and his friends. "You think you'd have died like Diive if you'd believed murdering people who weren't Saiyans was wrong?" 

"I don't know, maybe, maybe not--I'm no noble--but that wasn't the whole reason I told you about him--there is something else I need to understand in all this." Raditz looked at his brother. 

"Diive is not in Hell. The 'despised traitor' found a better place in the end, and those of us who learned well the lessons of our race and followed our warrior ideal--we were damned. Kakarott, how did we go so terribly wrong?" 

Goku was silent for a long moment. "You stopped listening to your hearts." 

"What do you-- oh." Raditz clenched the rail tightly again, almost breaking the wrought iron. No need to ask.. I know, he thought, remembering. 

It was his first adult mission, "clearing" a world. The locals had fought bravely, but futilely, their primitive technology and courage no match for Saiyan fury--but they looked far too much like Saiyans. It would have been easy to kill purple sponge-headed aliens or pink lizardoids--they weren't 'people'. But these--too much like Saiyajin without tails. It had been his luck to find, not warriors, but the secret place where they'd hidden their women and children. 

When the woman faced him, a woman his mother's age and build, holding in her arms a infant that could have been his little brother, he'd hesitated. His heart, his feelings recoiled from what he was here to do, everything he'd been taught-- 

\--and then the bright flash as the blast came in from over his shoulder, disintegrating them. Sub-Commander Kale (later Commander), the squad leader, glared at him. His face softened for an instant as he saw who it was. 

"First mission jitters, kid? Get over it. Remember, once he's found the enemy, a true warrior never hesitates to kill even his own brother. Now get over to quadrant 3, we think there's another nest to clear out." 

Raditz had saluted, and complied. The next time, Kale was there watching again, and Raditz just shut out his feelings and did what he'd been sent to do. It became easier and easier over time; every mission, every kill added another layer of armor around his heart. 

And yet.. I never enjoyed killing in cold blood. In the heat of battle, yes--I fight without restraint, with all the fury of a Saiyan warrior, dealing death without remorse to those who oppose me-- but there's no.. honor, no joy in slaughtering defenseless victims. I did it for long years and to countless people--but I never liked it. Not like some. It was always a distasteful task, one that had to be done, but not sought after--and never indulged in wantonly. 

Kakarott never knew, during my first visit to Earth, how lucky his friends were. I could have killed Kulilin, Bulma, the Elder Roshi, those other strange creatures in the blink of an eye. I could have obliterated all of the towns and cities I flew near while searching for my brother. I did not--because I just didn't want to. 

The worst thing I did was try to force my brother to kill them. I knew that after he'd killed a hundred people, felt them die under his hand, he'd have learned to shut away those weak feelings of his, learned to harden his heart. I'm glad, now, that he refused.. I'm glad Kakarott didn't let me make him just like me. 

And then that last fight--when I had Kakarott down, at my mercy.. 'A true warrior never hesitates to kill, even his own brother'. THEN my heart rebelled; I could not kill him. I could not stop killing him either--the battle had gone too far, and rage and pride would not allow me to stop or surrender then. 

"Raaa-ditz? Chi-chi's not going to like it if you wreck the porch." Goku's gentle rebuke brought Raditz out of his dark spiral thoughts. He was startled to see the wrought-iron rail bent and crumpled in his grip. 

"Oops. Sorry." With an effort, Raditz straighted the railing out again. "You were right. How did you know?" He looked at Goku. 

Goku looked back, dark saiyan eyes into dark saiyan eyes. The face so similar to his own, just enough different--slightly finer, more delicate features--and a characteristic scowl that Goku never had, and looking out of those eyes, a soul so very different--or perhaps not, Goku reflected. What would he have been, had he not struck his head and lost all memory of himself as a child? Once, at King Kai's, he'd had a vision of himself as a Saiyan warrior, arrogant and sneering. It had chilled him to the soul, and he'd passionately rejected all connection with his Saiyan heritage. 

It was many years before Goku realized that King Kai had feared that by training Goku, he might create a far worse threat to Earth and the galaxy than Vegeta or even Frieza--that what returned to Earth might become Kakarott, and not Goku. When he became the Super-Saiyajin.. Goku thought King Kai feared he'd truly become Kakarott. Even Gohan had been shocked by his anger--until he'd experienced it himself. He, Goku, had always been so mild--so few things truly angered him, that there were very few indeed who'd ever seen him deeply angry. 

Goku smiled to himself. If they'd only known! There was no Kakarott, no Saiyan warrior lurking in him waiting to come out--the anger was his own. Few things angered him, but the deaths of those he loved always did. Death was the one enemy he couldn't fight in battle, couldn't subdue--though with the dragonballs, sometimes they'd even defeated death. He remembered the terrible, helpless rage that tore through him for days when his grandfather Gohan had been killed. Rage and hate for whatever had killed him (not knowing until years later that he had killed Grandpa himself, as an ouzaru), anger at Grandpa for dying and leaving him, anger at himself for not being there and somehow helping Grandpa, anger so intense that he shook, remembering it. 

"Kakarott? What's wrong?" There was an uncharacteristic look of concern on Raditz's face. 

"Just memories." Goku sighed. "How did I know? My heart is MY guide; if I did not listen to it, even when crazy Super-Saiyajin.. I would have hurt Gohan, maybe killed him when he disobeyed me on Namek--I was crazy-mad Super Saiyajin, and so worried/angry he hadn't left; Vegeta would've been killed on Earth--and not alive and saving Gohan on Namek; and I wouldn't have let go your tail and given YOU another chance.." 

There was no reproach in Goku's voice, but Raditz winced anyway. "Which I promptly blew, and went on to make a complete ass of myself. A dead ass." He looked away. 

Goku looked intently at his brother until he looked back. "..and I wouldn't have given you a chance when I found you holding my son Goten up there in the mountains." 

Raditz eyes widened in shock. "But I didn't.." 

"Yah, I know that now--but then? Big shock, seeing you there, ALIVE, with little Goten in your arms. Brought back nightmares of you with Gohan. Part of me said 'kill, before he hurts Goten'. Heart said 'Goten is happy, Raditz is YOUR BROTHER, give him a chance, maybe some good here'. Good thing I listen to my heart, yes?" 

"Uh, yeah." Raditz was still shaken; he managed to smile weakly. "Getting killed twice in one day would have been.. depressing. And I'd have had a hell of a time explaining it to father." 

*      *      *      *

The World Tree groaned. Yggdrasil shifted; its third root, sunk in Elivagar's well, was cracked and twisted; it could no longer bear its share of the load. In time it would heal and regrow, but for now--Yggdrasil shifted. The Nine Worlds, bound together by the World Tree, shifted in alignment to one and other; old pathways closed, new pathways opened. Midgard and Niflheim drifted farther apart; Hell and Earth warped closer together. 

On Midgard (Earth), an ancient avatar of destruction slumbered deep beneath the ocean's floor. Faint echoes of the World Shift disturbed its endless sleep. One gigantic eyelid opened the merest hair, and slow cold thoughts stirred in the monstrous brain. 

"What has disturbed me? Is it the Black Star Dragonballs?" Some time later, more sluggish thoughts trickled through its consciousness. "No, no one summons me. Is it Ragnorak?" The mighty body, long endless coils of draconic might buried beneath all the oceans of the world, shifted and shuddered in the monster's troubled sleep. "No, the Aesir do not stir abroad, and Fenris still groans in his bonds. Something else.." 

Jormungund the World Serpent drowsed, still gripping his tail between his jaws, writhing and shuddering in his troubled dreams. The whole Earth trembled. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XIII. TREMORS


	14. XIII. Tremors

## XIII. TREMORS

Darkness, lit only by luminous green flashes like lightning, settled over Niflheim. The very air grew still; howling winter winds fell silent, snow ceased its eternal fall. A dreadful anticipation hung over the frigid underworld. Only one thing moved, a bright golden flame that hurtled through the air towards the mouth of the Gioll river. 

Then it began: tiny wavelets criss-crossed the Gioll, an irregular chop that mirrored not the absent wind, but a vibration in the earth itself. Soon the banks and hills shook with that vibration, banks collapsing into the river, hills rippling like sea-waves, shedding themselves in landslides. Snow and ice that had frozen in place since the dawn of time roared down in avalanches. Here and there, the ground cracked open; soon the very air seemed to groan. The World Shift had begun. 

Vegeta's eyes widened in dismay as he beheld the dark, nameless sea heaving and tossing in chaotic disarray, dark spray breaking high up on the bone-white beach. His gaze ran up and down the length of the barren island at the mouth of the river as he hovered, Princess Kadru in his arms. Where was the damned ship? 

Ah, there it was! Beyond the snake-walled Hall of Torment, on the ocean shore of Naastrand--as he'd expected, but had almost missed it as the waves washed high on the shore. Nailfarer Naglfar, the boat of dead men's nails, was nearly awash in the seething dark tide. Vegeta frowned as he descended; the pale gleaming ship had a crew. 

Dead men lined its deck, some black and bloated with decay, some the glistening white of the long drowned--all red-eyed and baleful. Axes and swords lifted as Vegeta approached. The dead prince smirked, and stretched out his one good hand-- 

\--and fell! He'd circled over the sea, and the instant he passed over the water, the power of flight left Vegeta, and he plummeted into the icy dark water, hair fading to black again. Kadru splashed down beside him. 

COLD! The shock of it would have killed him, were he living. Only the warmth enfolding him from the wolf-fur, and the wolf-blood within kept Vegeta moving; the dead prince surfaced, sputtering seawater and shivering with the bitter cold. Kadru.. 

..was being dragged onto the deck of Nailfarer Naglfar by red-eyed corpses. She thrashed and struggled in her human form, but to no avail. "Here's something to warm a dead man's bones!" "I saw her first, she's mine!" "Share and share alike, lads!" 

Hmmph. With any luck, they'll tear each other apart over her. Vegeta swam quickly to the ship of dead men, and hauled himself out by the bowpost. His brief climb took him out of view of Kadru and her undead captors; in that time, they fell suddenly silent, and there came a great sigh, like an indrawn breath. What the hell? 

Vegeta pulled himself over the side onto the deck. The dead men all backed away from Kadru as she reared up, transformed into a Naga-woman. She hissed at them, fangs bared; Vegeta marked the terror in her eyes. "Aiyeee! A snake demon!" "'Ware her venom!" "I wanted to kiss THAT??" 

Oh, this is good! They are as scared of her as she is of them--and everyone is ignoring me! Not so good. Vegeta scowled and stepped forward. 

"The snake-woman is with ME! If you don't like her, leave! If you like her, leave--I don't like you on MY ship!" Vegeta scowled; he hadn't meant to say it quite that way. 

The dead warriors turned as one to stare at the diminuitive Saiyan prince. "Who's the runt?" "Got nerve, ordering us off our ship like HE'S the captain!" "He's not Loki, that's for sure!" "Doesn't look so tough!" 

A tall, red-bearded wight stepped forward, wielding an axe in his right hand and carelessly dangling a shield in the other hand. His armor and decayed flesh showed the marks of many swords and axe blows; the warrior had not died easily. He glared at Vegeta, burning red gaze locked into intense dark Saiyan eyes. 

"Well, goblin?" the dead Viking growled. "Your words are empty boasts, runt--you've not a mark on you. Died in your sleep, did you? Probably poisoned by a woman," the warrior sneered. 

Vegeta's eyes went wide, and his brows lowered with anger. The veins stood out on the side of his head. "SHUT UP, YOU FILTH!" Faster than anyone could see, the dead prince lashed out, and the red-bearded warrior's head tumbled from his half-skeletal corpse. Corpse and head hit the deck, and slowly crumbled to dust as a high-pitched wail marked the passing of the broken spirit. 

Vegeta did not stop to watch; he charged through the throng of evil dead, breaking and shattering them before they were more than barely aware of the first warrior's fate. He stood, panting; the deck was clear of all save himself and Kadru. 

He looked quickly around, and cursed. More dead men were coming from all around the shore. In the other direction-- a great dark wave filled the horizon. 

"Hurry!" Vegeta called to Kadru. He raised one hand, and blasted the cable tying the baleful ship to Naastrand's shore. "Get the sail up on this wretched excuse for a boat, and hang on! If we're not well out to sea when that wave hits, we're done!" 

"How? I do not know how to sail a ship!" Princess Kadru wailed. 

"Useless idiot snake!" Vegeta cursed as he gathered energy in his right hand. He squinted at the dark shore; a single figure was clawing and fighting its way through the pack of dead men toward them. Vegeta frowned; something familiar about that one.. 

He glanced over his shoulder; the wave was closer! No time to worry about the stranger now--Vegeta lifted his hand and flung energy in a steady, powerful blast that scattered the walking dead warriors--and, with a grinding lurch that nearly knocked him off his feet, sent the ship surging out to sea. 

The dead prince noted with some curiousity that the stranger managed to dive out of the way of his blast, and was running.. now leaping into the waves and grabbing something.. the mooring rope! Nailfarer's severed mooring rope trailed in the water behind the baleful ship, and the stranger was hauling himself along it hand over hand. Vegeta smirked, and raised a hand-- and Kadru screamed behind him. 

Prince Vegeta whirled--the great wave was on them! Nailfarer's bow rose with the wave, up, up and up until Vegeta thought the whole ship must surely fall over backwards. Kadru coiled tightly around the mast, clinging with the same dogged tenacity that had marked her climb up Yggdrasil's icy root; Vegeta braced himself against the sternpost. The whole ship seemed to climb to the summit of a dark watery hill, the bow hanging over nothing but air--and then over, and Nailfarer crashed down! 

Now Vegeta clung to the sternpost with both arms and all his strength as Nailfarer plunged down the slope of the wave as steeply as it had risen. His eyes widened as the ship plunged down and down; surely nothing could stop it from diving deep into the sea behind the wave! 

*      *      *      *

Nothing stopped it; the bow drove deep into the dark water, and the icy torrent poured over the deck, drenching Kadru and Vegeta both. The flood dragged at Vegeta with frigid fingers, trying to tear him loose and pull him under the waves forever. He defied it with all his will and spirit, and stayed with the ship. 

For endless moments the ship staggered under the black water; Vegeta began to wonder if they would hit the bottom of the dark ocean first, or return to the surface someday. Finally, Nailfarer shuddered and broke the surface, wallowing in the dark waves. Vegeta opened his eyes, and shook the water from his hair. 

Kadru clung weakly to mast, coughing up water. She looked bedraggled and miserable; most of her bridal gold had been torn away and lost by the fierce current. Her wolf coat was sodden and torn; Vegeta's hadn't fared much better. Only the wolf blood within still kept him warm. 

Well, well! That peach did her some good--she would have drowned or frozen, probably both, if she were still purely mortal. "Stupid snake! What did you think you were doing, interfering with me at Elivagar?" 

Princess Kadru looked up from her own misery, and looked, in turns, puzzled, thoughtful, then finally indignant. "You promised to find me a suitable husband! I thought you were going to leave me with that ugly worm! I don't know what you thought, not-husband, but a dumb corpse-eating worm that chews tree roots is NOT suitable!" 

"Snake-woman, I--" Vegeta broke off abruptly, sensing movement behind him. His head snapped around, and he raised his good hand, gathering energy. 

One skeletal hand already gripped the gunwale, and as Vegeta watched, another joined it, and a helmeted skull rose into sight as the long-dead warrior started to climb aboard. 

"I thought we lost you when the wave hit," Vegeta snarled, as he held his hand out--and stopped abruptly. His eyes widened; he recognized the long blond braided hair hanging from the otherwise bare skull. "Modgudh! What??" 

A ghost's hollow chuckle; "That large, out-of-place demon you were looking for? He showed up," Modgudh said very dryly. "Perhaps I should ask permission to come aboard, first," the undead guard answered. "May I?" Hollow eyesockets regarded Vegeta's outstretched hand. 

"Hmmph! Come aboard, then! I want to hear why the guard of the Gioll Bridge is here, aboard my boat." Vegeta lowered his hand, and Modgudh resumed climbing aboard. 

"YOUR boat?" Modgudh laughed. "Them as built it might think different, but piracy is a fine old tradition in the North, so 'tis yours by right of possession, indeed." She seemed very amused. "I didn't mark you as one to be going a-viking, but I don't argue with reality, either. Stealing Nailfarer! Ah, this is rich!" 

Prince Vegeta folded his arms, and waited, scowling. The incongruity of Modgudh's rich, feminine voice coming from the bare bones of a long-dead warrior maid disturbed him, and her laughter even more so. Presently, Modgudh stopped laughing. 

"Your large, out-of-place demon has made one hell of a mess--crashing his way out of Elivagar, splintering Yggdrasil's root.. oh, and destroying the Gioll Bridge on the way past. No bridge, no need for a guardian, and I am freed from my geas. You're on your way out of Niflheim, so I followed, and here I am." She looked around at the ship. "That may have been a mistake." 

"What??" Vegeta looked around, suddenly aware of the condition of the ship. The mast ended a few feet above Kadru's head, snapped off abruptly. Sections of the gunwale and thwarts appeared partly crumbled, and the ship wallowed broadside to the waves. The saiyan found the alternate sinking and heaving up, combined with a certain lurching to and fro, very unpleasant. From the look on Kadru's face as she hurriedly slithered toward the rail, she found it more than unpleasant. 

This is what humans put up with before they learned to build real ships and aircraft?? For such fragile creatures, they have extraordinary tenacity and courage! 

"You're going to have trouble going anywhere--no sail, and looks like you lost your steering oar," Modgudh observed. She lifted up one of the planks laid between the thwarts, and peered into the bilge. "You're taking on water; she must be holed somewhere. I always did think dead men's fingernails was a stupid material to build a ship out of. No strength to it, and it crumbles at the joins between nails." 

"Taking on water?" Vegeta's eyebrows arched, and he looked worried. That did not sound good, nor did 'missing a steering oar', whatever THAT was. 

"As in, 'we're sinking'. Slowly." She looked down in the bilge again. "I suggest that you find the hole and patch it, and then someone start bailing." The skeletal woman finally let the plank drop. 

"Bailing?" Vegeta looked puzzled. 

"Yes, bailing. You know, scooping the water out of the bilge and tossing it back over the side where it belongs?" Her bare skull tilted a bit to the side. "You're not a sailor, are you?" 

"Saiyans FLY, we don't float around on driftwood like lizards! And why can't I fly here?" Vegeta snarled. 

"Hel's curse; what she gets, she keeps. She does not permit the spirits of the dead to simply flit across the Endless Ocean and escape her realm and their punishment. Nor may any ship made of wood or hide sail from Niflheim's shore--that is why the evil dead built Nailfarer Naglfar, this ship of dead men's nails." 

"Hmmph! So find the hole, and get Kadru to fix it before we're all swimming--she seems good at that sort of thing. I'll worry about how to get this barge moving!" He leaped to the top of the sternpost, and looked out across the sunless sea. 

"Why do 'hell' and 'too dark to see your hand in front of your face' seem to go together?" Vegeta growled to no one in particular. He lifted his arm, and a ball of white light began to form in his cupped hand. It blazed brighter and brighter until no one could endure looking at; then Vegeta lowered his arm, wound up, and pitched it high into the non-sky above the Endless Ocean. 

It exploded into a slowly expanding disk of light, illuminating the ocean for countless miles. Even the sea turned translucent under that relentless glare, and nameless fish-things dove deep, fleeing the terrible light. 

"Ah!" Vegeta exclaimed as he looked across the ocean, sheltering his eyes from the glare. "Look!" he shouted, pointing. Modgudh and Kadru looked up from their task. 

In the distance, a small black-hulled ship cut through the waves, a single black squaresail driving it before the wind. It was not so long as Nailfarer, but rounder and stouter. Prince Vegeta squinted; a single figure stood at the stern, gripping a great oar--so that's what a 'steering oar' is!--guiding the ship. As Vegeta watched, the ship came around, and bore straight for them. 

Kadru was bewildered, "I can't see anything!" 

Modgudh lifted a skeletal hand to shade empty eyesockets. "A knarr of sorts, though I don't recognize the design. Who sails this sea?" 

"We'll soon find out," answered Vegeta. "Is that hole fixed yet?" 

"Holes," corrected Modgudh. "And I think there's a weak spot in the hull that may split entirely before long." At Vegeta's look of annoyance, Modgudh snapped, "it takes more than thirty seconds to find and fix these things!" Modgudh looked under the planking again. "Vegeta, give me that fur cloak of yours; we've already used Kadru's." 

"WHAT?" Vegeta scowled, eyebrows lowering. 

"Would you rather swim?" Modgudh doffed her helmet and tossed it to Kadru. "As soon as you seal the other big one, start bailing," the undead warrior maid instructed the naga princess. 

Vegeta scowled even more fiercely, but took off the wolf-cloak and tossed it to Modgudh, who promptly handed it to Kadru in the bilge. "At least I know a better way to get rid of the water than laddling it with a spoon!" He furrowed his brow, concentrating; suddenly, the whole ship lurched as a single huge blob of water rose out of the bilge into the air. Vegeta gestured, and the amorphous thing tipped over, and slid into sea. Modgudh's jaw dropped; Kadru sat up, wide-eyed. 

"Now, let us go meet that black ship!" Vegeta faced the stern and held his one good hand out, concentrating. The pale ship shuddered, and surged forward; the waves flattened astern as the force of Vegeta's will beat against them. 

*      *      *      *

On Earth, Sinhika smiled to herself, pleased. She sat quietly waiting in the outer office of Capsule Corp's personnel director, filling out the paperwork for her new job. Sean had come through with flying colors, helping her put together a plausible resume, and she'd supplied the requisite references from memory--all Night Wanderers, who would know her name and happily attest that the Princess of Lankha was whatever and whoever she claimed to be, and good at the job, too. 

Sinhika felt no qualms at the deception; illusion and deception were survival to the Rakshasas--and she did have the skills she claimed. She simply hadn't acquired all the major languages of India, and deep knowledge of its customs and ways in quite the way her resume claimed she had. 

Capsule Corp needed an expert translator and "cultural advisor" for Marketing's Indian subdivision; Sinhika needed a job, and knew better than to argue with Fate. In a short while, she would be Capsule Corp's newest employee. She turned in the completed paperwork to the fellow behind the desk--pleasantly young, but a bit too plump to interest her as a man, and too nice to interest her as dinner. 

"Miss Manohara?" the nice, plump young man handed her another folder full of forms. "You need to take these over to Security, and get your badge. I hope you enjoy working with us," he smiled. 

*      *      *      *

Raditz frowned as the building shook again. Another minor earthquake! That had to be the fifteenth one in as many hours; what the hell was going on? Even the people who worked here who had dismissed the first few as "just the usual tremors" were starting to look rattled. 

The big Saiyan growled and glanced at the sheaf of paper in his hand: the criminal records of the four kidnappers he'd disposed of. He'd known that humans were insanely fond of records and forms of all kinds, but keeping performance records on criminals struck him as downright odd. Of course, on Vegetasai they'd simply have been executed the first time, and wouldn't need records after that. 

Hiregumi claimed to be old-fashioned; he preferred to brief all of his security force--including Raditz--in person. Raditz wasn't quite sure what was old-fashioned about that--in the Royal Guard, he'd have been briefed personally about all the usual suspects to keep an eye on, but humans seemed to go out of their way to find the most impersonal way possible to do things. He'd seen some of Bulma's flunkies spend half an hour sending electronic messages across the same damn room, instead of getting up off their lazy butts and taking the ten seconds to walk over! Idiots. 

Hiregumi had come through, using whatever connections he had for tracing licenses and names. Goten and Chi-chi's kidnappers turned out to be even slimier than Raditz would have believed possible--Saiyans might be brutal killers, but this kind of depravity--never! Well, perhaps there had been a few, in history, who were insane enough to do _once_ the kinds of things these four had been suspected of doing repeatedly for years. Raditz couldn't remember hearing of any such, though. 

Now I have to find out why these filth were hooked up with that demon, and why they went after Goten. And what the hell is that demon-dinosaur, anyway? Does it have anything to do with the thing that killed Vegeta? Musing over these thoughts, Raditz made for the bare corner office that officially belonged to him, but that he actually used for about five minutes, once a week at most. 

As he walked, Raditz barely noticed the shapely black-haired clerical assistant bent over a bottom-row filing drawer, short skirt hiked up to an indecent height by her current position, even though he had to squeeze past her. He closed the door to his office, completely oblivious to the frustrated glare she gave his departing back--or rather, hair. 

She stood up abruptly, and viciously kicked the filing cabinet closed. She returned to her desk, and her co-worker, a pert short-haired brown-haired girl wearing glasses. 

"Well, Lina?" the short-haired girl asked anxiously. "Did he?" 

"No--Nezumi, he didn't even LOOK at me! My skirt was hiked up to THERE," Lina drew a line on her thigh with her finger, "and you know how low this blouse hangs when I bend over--he just ignored me! This is the fifth time either you or I has tried to catch his eye, and nothing! Nada, zip, zilch, zero, strike out! Just our luck--the one good-looking new guy in the whole place, and he's gay!" 

"Maybe he's married, or already has a girl.." Nezumi suggested. 

"Nope, no ring. I looked. Besides, Kidoru is married, and that doesn't stop him from looking and grabbing, the pig! And if he had a girl, there'd be clues, and he'd act.. different. Bad boys will still show interest, and nice guys with a girl will show strong non-interest, if you know what I mean. Either this guy is gay, or utterly clueless, or dead--and he moves around too much to be dead," Lina pronounced with finality. 

Nezumi sighed, a forlorn, bereft sound. "Well, at least there's hope if it's just cluelessness." 

"If it's cluelessness, he's terminal! I think I could lounge naked on his desk and he'd probably push me aside to look at the computer or something!" Lina snorted in disgust. 

*      *      *      *

Kidoru jerked his head up, startled, when Lina knocked on his office door. He hurriedly shoved the magazine he'd been reading (a title Master Roshi would have recognized at once) into the top drawer and straightened his tie. He was a thirty-something man with crooked teeth and slick black hair, badly cut. His clothes were equally unfashionable. 

"Yes?" He asked his assistant somewhat harshly, and then frowned. There was someone with Lina, a woman--his eyes widened--a gorgeous woman with orange hair! 

"Mr. Kidoru, this is Sinhika Manohara, our newest employee. Personnel just sent her over to get her badge and clearances taken care of." Lina smiled a nice plastic smile for her boss. 

Kidoru didn't even look at her; his eyes were entirely on Sinhika. "Come in, come in, Miss Manohara. Won't you sit down? You can leave now, Lina," he added absently. 

*      *      *      *

"Who's the new girl?" asked Nezumi. 

"See for yourself," Lina said as she passed Sinhika's resume and application forms to her friend. "She got that Indian Division marketing spot that was open." 

"Oh, so she won't be stuck here with "The Fastest Hands in the East"? Lucky girl!" Nezumi made a derisive gesture in the direction of Kidoru's closed door. 

"Looks like she'll be reporting directly to the VP, or maybe the Boss Herself." Lina raised an eyebrow, impressed. 

"I wish we did--the Boss would never put up with Kidoru if she saw what he was like." Nezumi sighed. 

"The trouble is, he's actually competent enough at his job to keep it, and he doesn't act like a pig when anyone whose paycheck he doesn't sign is around. Hmmm.. well, Mr. Gay-or-Clueless there," Lina pointed down the hall at Raditz's office door, "is the Boss's personal bodyguard; he reports to Her all the time. I wonder..." 

*      *      *      *

Sinhika decided that if Kidoru tried to grope her one more time, he was going to be picking his teeth up out of the corner of the room, job or no job. Besides, she could always re-apply for the job under another name and face. First, she thought, let's try the playing the "customs and manners" card. 

"Excuse me," she said frostily. "In my country, it is not customary for a man to be so.. forward to any except his wife--in the privacy of their home. Is this your way of proposing marriage?" Sinhika managed to look innocent and puzzled. 

"Um, er, I.." Kidoru stammered, turning red. "It was just a joke, sort of. I'm sorry; just fill out these forms and take them to..." he paused, casting around for someone to dump this embarassing young woman on. "Take them to Raditz-san, his office is just around the corner and across the hall." 

Sinhika raised one eyebrow, then left the office. Kidoru wiped the sweat off his brow; thank the gods! If she'd reported his behavior as some kind of proposal--he didn't want to think how much troubled he'd be in. Especially with his wife, and that old battle-axe mother of hers! Besides, he smirked, time that long-haired weirdo Raditz pulled his own weight around here! Kidoru didn't care what Hiregumi or Bulma Briefs said about him being Mrs. Brief's _personal_ bodyguard, it wasn't fair that he didn't do his share of the regular work! _Personal_ bodyguard--huh! Kidoru could guess what kind of _personal_ services Raditz provided--look at how all the office girls drooled over him. Shameless! 

*      *      *      *

Raditz started at the sudden knock. What the hell? No one but Hiregumi had the temerity to interrupt him when he had the door closed. Was something wrong? He put away the book he'd borrowed from Gohan (" _Introduction to World History, 5th Ed._ "), curled his tail back around his waist, and growled, "Come in! What the hell is it?" 

The door opened part way, and the beautiful dusky face of Sinhika Manohara peered around the edge of the door. "Raditz-san?" she asked uncertainly, holding up a folder full of papers as she pushed the door the rest of the way open. "Mr. Kidoru sent me to--" 

Raditz stood up abruptly. His huge, knee-length mane of hair added to his imposing six-foot-plus height seemed to overwhelm the small office; Sinhika stepped back involuntarily. He folded his muscular arms and frowned slightly. 

"Kidoru has overstepped himself," the big man said in a soft, fierce voice. "I am a warrior--er, guard, not a clerk!" Sinhika barely heard him; her nostrils flared, and one eyebrow went up; there was something.. familiar about his accent, and the shape of his face.. Then her gaze fell on the brown fur "belt" wrapped around his waist--an odd ornament for the simple dark jeans and grey shirt Raditz wore--and her eyes widened. 

She smiled, and ducked her head bashfully under his fierce gaze. "I'm sorry, I'm new, I must have misunderstood. Perhaps one of the ladies can help me..." Sinhika looked at Raditz again, her voice full of innocence, her smile and eyes wicked as sin. "Again, I am very sorry that I disturbed you." Her voice and smile suggested that she wasn't the least bit sorry as she backed away, and gently closed the door behind her. 

Raditz blinked; he'd missed something! That face--that orange hair! SHE was the girl who danced in the street, the one with power, the one who had.. desired him. Well, one of several, he smirked to himself. So.. Damn! What an idiot he was!--he hadn't even bothered to learn her name! Well, if she was working here, he'd run into her again--he was sure she'd make sure of that. Heh. 

*      *      *      *

Nezumi finished typing up Sinhika's paperwork after she left. She sighed. "It's hopeless. He must be gay--he chased HER out of his office? No normal man could be THAT clueless!" 

Lina frowned. "Maybe not," she said. "He IS a professional bodyguard, not a clerk--Kidoru shouldn't have sent her to Raditz, he did that just for spite, I'll bet. Maybe the big guy's cluelessness is professionalism--you know, he concentrates on protecting the Boss, doesn't have time for stray femmes like us." Lina smiled wryly. 

Nezumi snorted in disgust. "Listen, I'm the ex-cop here, and most of the cops I knew behaved like professionals on the job--and the only cops I knew who would ignore women like he does were either gay or serious family men." She shook her head. "No, I'm starting to think you were right the first time. What a shame!" 

*      *      *      *

Late that evening, Kidoru parked his car, locked it, and hastened down the dark street toward his apartment. Working late at Capsule Corp. was one thing, but coming home late was not so good; Jade would be angry again, and scream at him about spoiling dinner. Preocupied with these woeful thoughts, he didn't know anything was wrong until something grabbed him from behind, and a strong hand was clapped over his mouth to muffle his cries... 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XIV. QUIET BEFORE THE STORM


	15. XIV. Quiet Before the Storm

## XIV. QUIET BEFORE THE STORM

It moaned. Above the floor of the abandoned quarry, a dark whirling void danced and moaned. Firelight and torchlight shed no light into its depths, nor did they do more than deepen the giant shadow standing by the makeshift altar. 

"Throw him in," grated the shadow's voice. 

Rough hands picked up the bound and gagged Kidoru and lifted him up; the gag was ripped away, and two men seized him by his hands and feet. They held him for a few moments, laughing at his screams of terror; then they heaved his body into the center of the wailing void. 

A shriek of horrid pain, cut off abruptly--then something dropped heavily from the vortex. It scratched at the ground, and painfully staggered erect, as the moaning void turned into itself and dissipated. Something man-like and goat-headed blinked at the firelight, looking around. Finally the broo beheld the shadowy Keikan-Ma and prostrated itself before him. 

The powerful demon seized the broo by his stubby goat horns and hauled him erect, studying him. Keikan-Ma tossed him aside. "He is weak," the demon growled. "Kaeru, you chose poorly." The void began to form above the altar, again. 

"But Master! You told us to seek priests and warriors and magical creatures--people with power! This one was a security officer--a warrior--and had power in his company!" The man backed away, terrified. 

"FOOL!" the demon growled as he strode forward and grabbed the panicking cultist. "He was WEAK, and so are you!" Keikan-Ma picked up the screaming, begging cultist and threw him into the fully re-formed chaos vortex. 

An antelope-headed broo appeared, blinking; the great shadow demon cuffed him to one side. "Sorceror!" 

A tall, pale man dressed all in black stepped forward and bowed. "Yes, Lord Keikan-Ma?" 

"Teach these fools how to recognize power! Lord Dairi-Mao requires his strongest broo, not the weakest ones! Take these broo, and train them, make them stronger!" 

The man in black bowed low again, long black hair hanging down to hide his face, and bemused smirk. "Yes, my Lord Keikan-Ma. It shall be done." 

"Of course; there is no other possibility." Keikan-Ma turned to another cultist. "Oshimu.." His voice grated slowly. 

Oshimu, a muscular thug in dark jeans and tight black t-shirt, paled. He gulped. "My Lord Keikan-Ma! Something powerful guards those temples; none of my teams has survived to report! Even I barely escaped the first one! I am not weak, but this is beyond me--we need your great might," he said fawningly. 

The shadow demon's fiery red eyes narrowed. It nodded, almost reluctantly. "Prepare another assault on the first temple." 

Oshimu took a step back, and prostrated himself. "Yes, my lord." As the ritual broke up, he left with the others; on Oshimu's face was the look of one who knows his doom has come. 

*      *      *      *

"..so if Mrs. Briefs requires extra security," Nezumi nodded at Raditz, "I could fill in as her driver. If you recall my record with the department, I have considerable experience in that area-- defensive driving instructor, high-speed pursuit driving, and so on." Nezumi finished up her presentation to Mr. Hiregumi and Raditz. 

She strove to maintain a serious face even though she was about to burst with excitement. Kidoru hadn't come in to work today--it was Friday, so Nezumi assumed he was taking a long weekend--and she'd seized the opportunity to make her proposal to Mr. Hiregumi without having to present it to Kidoru first. From the thoughtful look on Mr. Hiregumi's face, he was taking her proposal seriously. She wasn't sure about Raditz; he was standing with his arms folded, scowling, but he seemed to do that all the time. 

It was Raditz who spoke first. "Hiregumi-san.. do you trust her?" 

Nezumi looked sharply at him, and curbed the indignant outburst that sprang to her mind. Raditz's gaze was cold and measuring. He's trying to decide if I'm someone he can trust with his principal's life, she thought. Definitely a professional--maybe he's not gay or clueless--just focussed. Really, really focussed. 

Mr. Hiregumi nodded. "Yes, absolutely. I have known Nezumi since she was a rookie in the City Police Department, and she has always been exemplary." He smiled, bringing out the laugh wrinkles at the corner of his eyes. "Occasionally she has been more.. enthusiastic in the pursuit of her duties than some less talented individuals approved of, but do not let that deceive you. Her suggestion is excellent; I recommend it strongly." 

Wait a minute! Nezumi wondered; what's going on here? Mr. Hiregumi is _recommending_ something, not just ordering it done? This is Raditz's decision?? When did he become head of security? 

Finally, Raditz nodded. "Very well." He nodded to Mr. Hiregumi, and turned to leave. Part way down the hall, he looked back. "You coming?" 

"Um, yes!" Nezumi hurried to catch up with him. "I need to get--" 

"Worry about that later." 

They were outside; he turned a corner into a little-frequented part of the compound. As soon as Nezumi caught up with him, Raditz grabbed the brown-haired girl and hauled her up close to his face. 

"Hey! Put me d--" she broke off suddenly, noticing that "down" was suddenly 20 feet below and receding fast. She paled. 

"Now, tell me the REAL reason you made that proposal that puts you so conveniently close to Bulma and Trunks!" Raditz growled softly. 

Talk about professional paranoia! Keep your cool, girl. He's not going to drop you--probably trying to see if you scare. Sharp, though--he figured out quick that I have an ulterior motive. Focussed, not clueless. 

"Two reasons: it gets me away from Kidoru, and it gets me conveniently close to YOU," she answered pertly. 

"ME??" Raditz's brows lowered. 

"Think about it; you're a pretty suspicious character--coming out of nowhere like that, no background, no references, no nothing, just Bulma decreeing that you be here. Sure, I got the word that you're one of Vegeta's people--but he came out of nowhere, too; I couldn't even begin to list the wild rumors about him if I had all day! Some of us have worked for the Briefs family for a long time, and don't want to see anything bad happen to them." 

Raditz's eyes widened. "Hiregumi-san put you up to this! You haven't been here that long, but he's known Bulma's father for years! That wily bastard!" Raditz smirked. "You'll do. You've got nerve enough in a tight spot." He descended rapidly, and they alighted on the rooftop. "I won't ask if you can fight--that's my job. You know where to be and when--see you there." 

Nezumi watched in wonder as Raditz rose high into the air above the Capsule Corp compound and darted off into the sky. 

"Wow. He can fly, too." 

*      *      *      *

Deep in Hell, in the twisted, slimy canyons of the Pit of Worms, Commander Kale was not so amused. 

"Commander! We've found another one!" Negi called up from the canyon below. 

Kale waited for the second-class soldier to make his way up. "Another what? I sincerely hope you mean 'another broo'." The Saiyan commander frowned. 

Negi, a one-eyed scarred warrior of medium height with the usual unruly black saiyan hair spilling down to below his shoulders, shook his head slowly. "No, sir. Another human soul that didn't get here by the usual route. I think they're somehow being switched for the broo." 

Commander Kale stood up straight, all his attention on what Negi was saying. "What? How do you know this?" 

"The second guy.. he belonged to whoever's doing this. Said it was some kind of ritual--they open a rift, toss someone in, get a broo out. PHYSICALLY get a broo, sir!" Negi seemed unhappy to report it; Kale was even more unhappy to hear it. 

"Let me get this straight--someone on Earth is using ritual magic to open a rift to Hell and summon broo demons bodily to Earth? That should be impossible unless-- OH CRUD! Of course! It's a substitution--the poor bastard that gets sacrificed provides the flesh and bone for the broo spirit to occupy, reshaped to fit the broo. Nasty." Kale thought a moment. "Humans are too weak to host most of what we've been fighting for weeks.." 

Negi nodded. "Sir, that would agree with what I've seen--the two souls we picked up are weaklings, and the broo that disappeared may have been some of the weaker ones--none of the big guys seems to have gone missing, though I can't be sure yet. They're smart enough to avoid letting us come close enough to count noses." The dead saiyan warrior smiled wryly. 

Kale did not smile; rather, he looked as close as a Saiyan ever gets to being sick to his stomach. "Go on back and find out what you can--find out if there are any more of these substitutions. Don't lose any of them, we'll have to deliver them all somewhere when this gets sorted out. Dismissed!" 

"Yes, sir!" Negi saluted, and disappeared back down the canyon. 

Kale sighed, and pulled his white commander's cloak close about him. "King Vegeta's really going to love hearing about this. Souls getting dragged to Hell without going through Lord Enma's judgement--this one's going to kick crap loose all the way up the hierarchy; just my luck to be the poor bastard it's all going to roll downhill on top of." 

He smiled bitterly to himself. "This is Hell, after all. I didn't get sent here for the fun of it." Kale stood wearily. "Duty obliges; the king must know of this madness." 

*      *      *      *

"Prince Vegeta! He's turning alongside!" Skeletal Modgudh shouted from her position on the bow. 

Vegeta glanced over his shoulder; the oncoming ship was a scant score of yards away. The steersman of the black ship leaned hard on his oar, forcing the bow of the stout ship away from Nailfarer's hull. Vegeta should have been able to see the steersman plainly now, but he seemed cloaked in shadow; all the dead prince could make out were powerful dark arms straining at the great oar. 

A final burst of power, and Nailfarer surged forward, nearly colliding with the other ship-- 

CRACK! Nailfarer shuddered, and wallowed into the waves. 

"WHAT THE HELL?" shouted Vegeta, whirling around. 

"DAMN THIS FLOATING PIECE OF CRAP--THE HULL'S SPLIT OPEN!" Modgudh shouted, jumping down and racing back from her perch on the bow. "We're breaking up!" 

Kadru snapped out of her private miseries and looked about; her body writhed and changed as she took two-legged human form again. She frantically tossed planks aside, probing in the water-filled bilge--within seconds pulling out two armsfuls of sodden fur. The Naga princess looked across the widening gap between Nailfarer and the black ship, and hesitated; it seemed impossibly far to jump. 

Nailfarer settled lower in the water every second; Vegeta moved. He scooped Kadru under one arm and leaped to the deck of the black ship in a single bound. After the slightest of hesitation, Modgudh followed him. As before, she landed short, and found herself clinging to the outer hull, her bony fingers hooked over the gunwale as she pulled herself aboard. 

Vegeta found himself looking up at the shadow-cloaked boatman, and down at the boathook point inches from his chest. How had he moved so fast? A moment ago, he was still at the oar! Now the oar was lashed down and this creature was staring him in the face! 

It rumbled, "An unusual pick-up. Have you the fee?" Shadows cloaked and cowled it, though Vegeta thought he saw the glimmer of teeth in those shadows. 

"What fee?" Vegeta snarled, bracing himself for a fight. He could sense some of this thing's power, but most of it was obscured, hidden from him. 

"The Ferryman's Fee. I am the Ferryman. There is a fee for transporting the dead, wherever they need to go." The Ferryman explained patiently in his rumbling, bass voice. He tossed back his shadowy cowl, revealing a dark, long-muzzled inhuman head. White tusks protruded from his strong jaws, while his eyes were mere slits. Vegeta thought he could hear an odd high-pitched chirping as the Ferryman cocked his head and looked them all over. "For the living, I charge extra," he pointed one finger at Kadru. 

Vegeta's eyebrows lowered; he looked more thoughtful than angry. "WHEREVER we need to go? You could take me ANYWHERE I asked?" 

"Wherever Styx flows. If you pay my fee." 

Vegeta scowled, and turned abruptly to Kadru. He grabbed her arm and stripped the remaining gold armlets off of her. He thrust them at the Ferryman. "Here! Is this enough, or must I give you the snake-wench, too?" 

"NO!" shrilled Kadru, who then took a second look at the Ferryman. "Are you married?" 

The Ferryman took Kadru's gold and examined it closely; Vegeta could hear that strange chirping again. "It will do." He cocked his head and looked quizzically at Kadru. "You tasty?" 

Kadru crossed her arms indignantly. "NO! I'm foul-tasting and probably poisonous.. but I can cook." 

Vegeta looked startled. Well, well--the snake-woman is getting a backbone! And even showing a hint of wit... 

"Hmmm.. Sit there and stay out of the way. You, pointy hair--you paid the fee, where to?" 

"The name," the Saiyan prince snarled through clenched teeth, "is Prince Vegeta. Take me to the edge of Chaos itself, before Time or beyond Space, whichever." 

The Ferryman's head snapped around, large round Saiyan-like ears swivelled in Vegeta's direction. Even his slit eyes widened, revealing opal-white orbs with no pupil. Again, Vegeta heard that high chirping at the very edge of hearing. 

"I cannot. Styx has no part in Chaos. I can take you to the Helldarks. From the Helldarks ye walk to the Chaos Hells." 

"Do it!" Vegeta snapped. 

"And these others?" 

"Kadru seeks a suitable husband--take her where she can find one. Modgudh can speak for herself." 

Modgudh chuckled. "It doesn't get boring around you, does it? I'll follow the noble Vegeta's path for now." 

The Ferryman looked from one to the other. "Good. Now, sit there and stay out of the way. I have a boat to sail." With that, he returned to the steering oar and unlashed it, heaving at it until the boat came around to a new course. 

*      *      *      *

After what seemed like days of rolling and surging up and down endless dark waves, the black boat sailed into smoother waters. Before long, the black boat arrived at the mouth of a dark river. 

"Styx," the Ferryman announced. "Calmer here, you can move around now. Stay out of my way." He trimmed the main yard, and let out the reefs in the squaresail; as the sail bellied out, catching the wind, he swung the oar gently over and set the boat sailing up the River Styx. 

For uncounted hours they sailed up the dark river, enshrouded in gloom. On the left bank, pale things wailed and moaned and begged for passage on the passing boat, but the Ferryman would not stop. 

"Who are those restless spirits, and why do you leave the poor things behind?" Kadru finally asked, her eyes filled with tears of pity. 

"Don't have the fee," pronounced the Ferryman. "No one loved them enough to bury them with coin; they did not love the one who paid the fee for them, and they lost it." It was the longest speech he'd made yet. He regarded Vegeta. "Ye were paid for, and not with Kadru's gold." The Ferryman fell silent, and said no more. 

Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyajin, shivered, though he was not cold; he felt, as the brush of his lover's hair against his face, the gentle weight of the cherry blossoms Bulma laid upon his grave, countless worlds away. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XV. TEMBLOR


	16. XV. Temblor

## XV. TEMBLOR

Trunks slouched at his desk, working on the drawing in the back of his notebook. He'd long since tuned out the teacher's drone--listening to Mr. Bara explain basic arithmetic to the rest of the dummies bored Trunks silly; he'd read the math book all the way through in the first week. He dutifully did his lessons and homework, because it made Mom happy, and since he scored 100s most of the time, Trunks didn't see why he should have to listen to Mr. Bara tell him stuff he already knew. 

It was much more interesting to get just the right texture penciled in for Raditz-san's hair, and the ghostly luminescence around the Ochimo of Water. He'd switched to a green colored pencil for the latter. 

Trunks stopped to admire his handiwork; he thought he'd done rather well for a back-of-the-notebook pencil sketch. Then a hand fell on his shoulder. 

"Well, Mr. Briefs, I see you've managed to get your classes confused." Mr. Bara glared sternly down at the purple-haired boy. "I'm teaching _mathematics_ , not art!" 

Trunks quickly closed his notebook and shrank back in his seat, cheeks flaming. 

Mr. Bara frowned and held his hand out for the notebook. Trunks reluctantly gave it to him, and watched as his teacher opened it to the back, to his drawing. 

"Hmmph! Definitely not lesson material!" He ripped the drawing out and crumpled it up. "Boys will be boys, but in MY class, you will be a student! Is that understood, Mr. Briefs?" 

Trunks nodded dumbly, still too embarassed to speak. 

"IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?" 

"Yes, sir," Trunks answered in a very small voice. 

After class, an angry and upset Trunks sulked in the hallway beside his locker. It just wasn't fair of Mr. Bara to embarass him in front of the whole class like that! He DID do his lessons, he passed every test with the highest scores in the class, why did Mr. Bara care if he drew pictures when he got bored? And it had been one of his best pictures, too. Trunks angrily kicked the locker in front of him. 

WHANNGGGG! The whole bank of hall lockers rang from the force of Trunk's kick; the door of the locker he'd kicked crumpled up like tinfoil around his foot. Trunks stared dumbly at the wad of sheet steel wrapped around his foot. 

"Oops." He looked around guiltily. To the left--no one; to the right--MR. BARA! 

"Mr. Briefs! I believe we need to have a talk with the principal about your temper..." 

*      *      *      *

Sinhika hurried toward the elevator; it wouldn't do to be late reporting to her new boss on the first day. As she hurried, she reflected on her recent encounter with Raditz. He was the big attractive guy that time downtown--but then she hadn't been close enough to see details. She'd almost lost her composure when she realized what that brown fur "belt" was--a tail! He looked like one of the Ghost Prince's people--that same outrageous hair, sense of raw power, and of course, the tail--he had to be one of them! 

Sinhika, she scolded herself, don't be an idiot--you came to Satan City in the first place because the Ghost Prince came from there. I shouldn't be surprised to find more of his kind here. In fact, the only surprising thing is that I haven't run across the others he mentioned, Kakarott and Gohan. I would think that such powerful warriors would be well known. Instead, the only well-known local warrior seems to be that Mr. Satan character. 

She suddenly wanted to see Sean's magic painting again; would she find someone in it who looked like a close relative of Raditz, too? Sinhika had a creepy hunch that she would. What was the significance of that painting? The king of the monkey people--no, what was it the Ghost Prince called himself?--the king of the Saiyajin and his court, in Hell. Were they really the Children of Hanuman? Sinhika wasn't sure she believed that--it had been a very long time since she'd met Hanuman the Wind-childe, but she remembered him as being a very nice furry white monkey-person who made her laugh. How could his children be demons of Hell? 

How could your kind, compassionate and righteous father have a brother who was the Demon King, the terror of the Three Worlds, who stole another man's wife and was slain for it? a contrary thought whispered in the back of her mind. Good and evil are not inherited; good men may have wicked children, and good children may have evil parents. 

*      *      *      *

"TRUNKS DID WHAT??" Bulma shouted into the phone. "Yes, I'll be coming down there right away--no, I can't. I've got an appointment in fifteen minutes, too late to postpone it--but just as soon as I can, I'll get down there!" Bulma slammed the phone down. 

"What has gotten into that boy?" Bulma muttered as she picked up the phone again and punched in the codes that switched it over to comm-link mode. "The same thing that's gotten into me, I suppose." She rested the phone on the desk for a moment, as one stray tear escaped her eye. "Vegeta.." her empty heart ached. 

"No! I will.. not.. start.. crying!" She grabbed the phone up and punched in a certain ident code. "Raditz! Since you insist on following me around, I will be going to Trunks' school in about half an hour or so." Bulma slammed the phone down. 

"I shouldn't have done that," she sighed. "That was rude; it isn't poor Raditz's fault." Bulma looked at her desk, stared at the wall, glared at the computer. "Hmmm.. well, rather than mope.." She started browsing a certain archive of computer files--computer files that her attack programs had copied from VirtualBlack's computer before erasing it. 

"'Goth Convergence'--oh boy, aren't we Mr. Cool! 'Tools' and 'Downloads'--predictable hacker crap. 'Interesting'--there's my Saiyan tech manuals, you thief! 'Dreams'--what's this? Pictures? 'GameOfDemonKings', 'Wolfslayer'.. Hmmm.. doesn't sound like the kind of hentai crap I'd expect... Let's see if I can display them..." 

*      *      *      *

Raditz walked across the compound, thinking dubious thoughts about Nezumi. The more he thought about it, the more he doubted that Hiregumi had put her up to spying on him. No, Raditz doubted that Nezumi meant to spy on him at all--but if not, what was her real reason for wanting to get close to him? Raditz was sure she had been sincere about that part. But why? 

Raditz barged through the front door of the main Capsule Corp building--and stopped suddenly as realization struck him. Could it be that simple?? She wants to be close to me.. because she wants to be close to me. He thought back to all his 'chance' encounters with Nezumi and her black-haired friend Lina. 

I don't believe this! I am a clueless idiot! How could I have missed such obvious signals? If a Saiyan girl had even hinted at.. I would have.. Oh, crud. 

Raditz started walking slowly toward the stairs. I just wasn't thinking of them as people, he thought, hating himself. Not as real women who might be really interested in me as a real live man. So many years of denying to my heart that anyone without power and a tail could be people.. He clenched his fists tightly, and then let go as he floated up the hollow stairwell to the top floor. 

*      *      *      *

Sinhika knocked, and stepped into the office holding an armful of folders. Bulma sat motionless, staring at her computer screen, her face blank with shock. She didn't seem to notice Sinhika. 

"Ms. Briefs? Um, I'm not early, am I.." Sinhika trailed off as Bulma turned slowly to face her, that look of shock and confusion still written on her face. 

"How can this be?" the blue-haired woman asked shakily. 

"How can what be?" Sinhika walked quickly over to this desk to see what was so shocking and horrifying-- 

\--and dropped the presentation she'd so carefully put together, now forgotten in her own shock. 

" _Pitaa_! _Aadhyaatmikuum Kshatriyaa_!" 

There, in full color on the computer screen, was an extremely vivid portrait of King Vibishana and Ghost Prince Vegeta playing chess! And the style--she'd seen one other painting in that vivid, dynamic style--Sean's painting! 

"What?" The shock vanished from Bulma's eyes, replaced by suspicion. "You're the new girl--Miss Manohara? What could you possibly know about this?" 

Sinhika pulled her scattered wits together. "I.. I'm sorry, Ms. Bulma. The portrait--it is such a vivid one of a fearsome personage of ancient myth. The artist is very.. skilled." 

"Who?" 

Sinhika pointed gingerly at the black-skinned demon noble. "That is Vibishana, the Demon King of the Rakshasas. You can tell, because he has black skin--demons are always depicted so--and wears royal garb. There were only two Kings of the Rakshasas in all of myth; the first was Ravana, who had ten heads and twenty arms, and the second was Vibishana, who has but one head and two arms, but whose eyes are sapphire and can see all hidden things. I do not recognize the other player from any myth, though." The orange-haired girl looked shyly at Bulma. "Did you draw this?" Sinhika dissembled. 

"No," Bulma answered, relaxing. "I found it, and was very surprised by the skill of the artist.. and his choice of subjects," she added mysteriously. "Enough of this." She closed the viewer, and turned back to Sinhika. "Down to business.." 

*      *      *      *

"Raditz. Could you come here? There's something I want your opinion on." The request was normal enough, but Bulma's voice was tight and strange. The big Saiyan looked at her sharply. Now what? 

Bulma carefully closed and locked the door behind them, making Raditz very edgy. It was after working hours, now, and almost everyone else was gone for the day. What was she up to? 

He found out. His own throat went tight as he looked at "Game of Demon Kings" in its full glory on Bulma's wide-screen display. 

"Vegeta," Raditz finally managed to say. "But who's the other guy? And where in the HELL did you get this portrait?" 

"Out of the personal files of the twit hacker who stole my tech manuals off of YOUR computer--you do remember that incident, don't you?" 

Raditz rubbed his head. "Yeah." 

"My newest employee--the Indian girl--managed to identify the other player as a mythical demon named Vibishana, King of the Rakshasas. I looked them up--they're mythical shape-changing, man-eating demons of India. Okay, the artist likes to paint mythical figures--but how in the hell did Vegeta get in his picture? And why is he dressed like that?" 

"That's.. how Vegeta appears in Hell." Raditz seemed reluctant to say anything more. "He's wearing the armor and cloak of a Saiyan prince--what he IS, what he.. sees himself to be. I can't really explain it better than that." 

"As for how did Vegeta get in the picture.. Maybe I should ask the artist." Raditz smirked evilly. "Know where I can find him?" 

"Not yet--I just have his electronic address. You and Mr. Hiregumi might be able to find it out his real-world address from that, but I'll bet his real-world address is somewhere in his own computer files--which I have." Bulma smirked back. "I'd like to hear what Mr. VirtualBlack has to say about his paintings, myself! Take a look at the other one." 

Bulma opened another image, this one titled, "Wolfslayer". A burning golden giant ape and a monstrous white wolf fought across mountain tops in a swirl of blazing gold and silver white; the moon silhouetted them. Superimposed on the image of the ape was the ghostly face of a man--the face of Vegeta, snarling in battle rage. 

Raditz stared at it for a bit. "Our artist friend seems fond of Vegeta, doesn't he? But how could Vegeta be ouzaru? His tail--Bulma, show me the first picture again!" 

Bulma displayed "Game of Demon Kings" again. Raditz's finger darted out. "Look! He has a TAIL! Funny color for a Saiyan's tail, though." 

Bulma stared. "I can't believe I missed that! It's white. Maybe that's why I missed it--all the Saiyan tails I've seen have been brown." 

"They're always brown," Raditz said, still staring. "Why did he draw Vegeta with a white tail?" 

"Maybe--" 

The floor trembled--at first a minor tremor like so many in the past few days, but then it gathered in strength and violence--the floor, the walls, the whole building heaved and tossed like a small boat in a hurricane. 

Without stopping to think, Raditz grabbed Bulma and sheltered her in his arms, ready to fend off the worst the shuddering earth might throw at them. Bulma screamed in protest as the walls cracked open, "But this building is earthquake proof!" 

Then the floor collapsed underneath them, and the ceiling followed after. Bulma screamed; Raditz's aura flared as he formed a ki shield around them and flew upward. Once, twice, thrice he blasted chunks of reinforced concrete into dust; he batted lesser debris aside with one hand and will. 

It only took a second for Raditz to blast his way clear of the collapsing building, but to Bulma it seemed like an hour of terror before they hung suspended in the blue sky, looking down at the spreading ruins. 

Everywhere she looked, buildings swayed and fell; dust rose into the sky. The ground heaved and cracked, splitting open into crevasses, sliding and rising to form new hills and cliffs. 

"Gods..." Bulma buried her face in Raditz's chest. 

He held her silently for long minutes. "Your parents are alive." 

"What? How did you--oh. You sensed them?" 

"Yes, down there in the garden." Raditz nodded at the ground. 

Bulma looked down. Yes, there they were, safely in the middle of the garden, looking around. She suddenly realized that the ground was a lot closer, that Raditz was landing them right in the garden-- 

"Bulma! You're okay!" 

"Baby!" Mrs. Briefs hugged her daughter tightly, rare tears flowing from her eyes. "We thought you'd been killed when the HQ building collapsed!" 

"Raditz saved my life--Trunks! Where's Trunks! He was at school!" Bulma started to panic again. 

"He's alive, too." Raditz said. His eyes were closed; he seemed to be listening to some distant voice. His lips curved up in the hint of a smile as his eyes opened. Goten is fine, too, he thought to himself. 

*      *      *      *

Trunks had been sitting in the principal's office writing "I will not lose my temper and break things" for the 478th time when the quake hit. Remembering the school's frequent earthquake drills, he started to hide under the principal's desk with the principal--then he remembered Nezumi. 

He ran out into the secretary's office. "Miss Nezumi?" 

Nezumi looked at him, somewhat startled as she sheltered in a doorway, arms over her head to protect herself. "Young man, get under that desk--NOW!" 

"Yes, ma--YOUCH!" Trunks reflexively threw his hands up as a ceiling beam crashed through the false ceiling, and executed a perfect Burning Attack. Ceiling beam and the rest of the ceiling vaporized in the incandescent brightness; blue sky reigned above. 

"Wow. I guess I did learn something from all that training with Goku-san." Trunks ran over to Nezumi as soon as the floor stopped heaving. "Are you all right?" 

"I think so." Nezumi looked at the hole in the ceiling and looked at Trunks again. "Did I really just see you vaporize the ceiling and the entire second floor room above us?" The usually giggly brown-haired girl was wide-eyed and serious. 

Trunks looked up. "Oh, man, I hope I don't get in trouble for that. I wasn't mad or anything--I just thought the ceiling was going to crush us!" 

Nezumi couldn't help smiling at Trunks; the boy looked so worried! "I know, and I think you were right--that beam would have smashed us flat! Either that, or we would have been buried under the second floor when it fell on us!" She held out a hand for Trunks, and he helped her up. "Just don't mention it to the principal," she winked. "I don't think he'd understand." 

After checking that the principal was okay, they made their way out to the car--only to halt in dismay. Not only was the road unusable--broken and covered with fallen electric lines, but the car had fallen into a chasm in the ground and been crushed. 

"I guess we're not going anywhere soon," Nezumi muttered. 

Trunks was wide-eyed. "What happened to everything?" 

"Earthquake, Trunks--a bad one. A very bad one. This one's probably going to make headlines around the world." Nezumi was exactly right. 

Nezumi's cellphone buzzed. "Yes? Ah! He's fine, ma'am. Trunks is right here with me--not a scratch on him. Dust, on the other hand..." 

Thip! Something landed on the grass behind Nezumi, and Trunks' eyes went wide with surprise. Then he grinned even as she turned around, reaching for the gun in its concealed back holster, and yelled, "RADITZ-SAN!" as he bolted past her. 

Nezumi snatched her fingers out of her jeans like she'd been caught doing something naughty, and tried to look innocent as she faced the big.. tall.. muscular.. handsome.. incredibly long-haired bodyguard. As Trunks greeted Raditz, Nezumi noticed that he, too, had plenty of plaster dust in his hair. 

"Hmmm.. That car isn't going anywhere," Raditz observed. "Come here, Nezumi." 

"Uh, the last time I got close to you--" 

"--I did exactly what I'm planning to do now--grab you and fly." Raditz smirked. "I'm taking Trunks home now. You coming?" 

"Just watch where you put the hands, big guy," Nezumi walked up to Raditz, smirking back. 

Raditz grinned evilly. "Okay." He grabbed Trunks with his right arm, and grabbed Nezumi by the arm with his left hand. He rose into the air, and just as Nezumi started to feel the strain of suspending her entire weight from her shoulder, Raditz's TAIL wrapped around her waist and hips in a most intimate manner, supporting her weight and holding her close to him. 

"T-Tail! You've got a tail!" she squeaked as she grabbed him around the waist in return. 

"Yep." 

*      *      *      *

Sinhika landed gingerly on the roof of Sean's apartment building. Amazingly enough, the old building was neither collapsed nor on fire. There were a few cracks in the walls, and she doubted a single unbroken window remained in the city, but all in all, the place seemed pretty solid. She hurried down to his apartment, to find the door open, and Sean standing in the middle of his living room, looking at the fallen and tumbled debris of his possessions. 

He glanced at her and a smile flickered across his face momentarily. "Hey, Sin. Glad to see you're okay." He nodded at the apartment in general. "Wouldn't you know it--half the city falls down, and my apartment building, Cockroach Central, stands solid as a rock! I think the roaches must have been holding the building together." He reached down, and found a carton of cigarettes somewhere in the mess. 

"You don't smell any gas, do you?" he asked, holding his lighter at the ready. 

Sinhika sniffed the air. "No..." 

"Good." Sean lit his cigarette, and soon the distinctive reek of burning clove filled the air. 

"I'm glad YOU'RE okay," Sinhika walked over to Sean, grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt, pulled him to her face and kissed him, long and hard. 

"Whoa! What was that for?" 

"Just because you're you, Sean." Sinhika winked. She peeked into the small studio he used. "Did the painting survive? I wanted to look at it again." 

Sean stepped over some fallen books into the studio, where he picked up the collapsed easel and painting. "No damage, but.." he trailed off. 

"But?" Sinhika looked at the painting with him. 

"I have this vague memory of spilling my guts to you about my paintings, so I guess it's all right to point out that the painting has.. changed." 

The orange-haired girl looked where the black-clad artist was pointing. "You're right. The white-cloaked guy who was kneeling before the king is gone, and he's been replaced by that ugly bald guy in the heavy Chinese armor who's in a huddle with the king and that scar-faced guy with the every-which-way-hair." 

"I wouldn't call it a huddle, more of a staff conference. A meeting of the king with his ministers." Sean frowned, wishing Sinhika would take his cursed painting a bit more seriously. 

Sinhika pursed her lips. "Could be. Scarface there has been standing at the king's side the whole time. Since he and the king are the only two wearing red cloaks, I'd say Scarface there is someone very important..." 

*      *      *      *

While Sinhika and Sean discussed the finer points of art inside, outside, Pomona and Melchior made their way to Sean's apartment. 

"Melc, we are sooo lucky! I can't believe we left the Cafe just before the quake hit--and the whole place collapsed!" Pomona was still a bit shaky. 

"Uh, yea!" Melchior's comment was a bit clipped; he was out of breath from stumbling over rubble and dodging fallen electrical lines. "Sean's probably okay--his building's still standing." 

"He's the only one of us with a roof over his head, so far. Hope he lets us crash with him." Pomona was in better shape than Melchior. 

They made their way up the lightless stairs to the dimly lit hall on Sean's floor. 

"Looking for a place to crash?" The slender man with the long black hair and black trenchcoat stood in the middle of the hall, blocking Pomona's way. 

"Voron! What are you doing here?" Pomona snapped. "And don't tell me you're crashing with Sean--he'd toss your sleazy ass right out the nearest window first." 

"Pomona! I'm crushed. I just thought I'd offer you two the chance to join with us--with my new coven. We've plenty of places to sleep, and you'd both be very welcome." 

"Oh cripe, what is it this time, Voron?" Melchior asked sarcastically. "First you tried the Wiccans, then the Druids, then the Scientologists.. last I heard, even the Church of Satan kicked your sorry ass out!" 

Voron held out his hand, and slowly drew into a fist. He snarled angrily, "I WASN'T KICKED OUT! I left those bickering fools because they had no real power! I've found the real thing, now!" 

"Oh, sure, right. Voron, you and the horse you rode in on, you know what to do!" Pomona sneered. 

"I'm sorry you feel that way. Melchior?" 

"Voron, you're a jerk, you've always been a jerk, and you always will be a jerk. Does 'go away and never bother me again' mean anything to you?" asked Melchior mildly. 

Voron smiled evilly. "Actually, I'm not all that sorry you feel that way. Caleb?" 

"Huh? Who's Cal--" Something smashed into the side of Melchior's head, and everything went black. 

Pomona spun around, and yelled as Melchior collapsed. Sean's unshaven nextdoor neighbor stood over his falling body, a blackjack in one hand. He smiled at Pomona, terrifying her utterly. 

"Scream all you like--no one will hear you," Voron mocked. "I told you I have _real_ power now!" 

Pomona responded by punching Voron in the face with a heavily be-ringed hand. "Power this, you son-of-a-bitch!" Then she kneed him in the groin, and Voron was out of action. 

Caleb jumped on her from behind; he was as strong as a tiger. Try as she might, she couldn't get loose from his grasp. Two other men stepped out of Caleb's apartment, and methodically beat her senseless. 

After a few minutes, Voron got back to his feet and wiped the blood off of his cut and bruised face. "Now, boys, these two have POWER! Might not look like much, but Pomona here," Voron kicked her in the ribs, "has the potential to be a first class witch. Too bad she won't live so long. Melchior, here, is also gifted--and he IS a witch." 

Voron bent down and ripped a small necklace off Melchior's neck, revealing the pentacle. "We'd never have been able to get the jump on him without the ritual Keikan-Ma taught me, that hides you from all supernatural senses." He glanced down the hall at Sean's door. "We've got a good haul tonight, boys, but the real prey I want is behind that door. The artist and the mystery girl--they're both very powerful and probably don't even know it. Keep an eye out for opportunities, and let me know before you move! End of lecture, gentlemen; let's go." 

*      *      *      *

Something howled in the distance; two more doleful voices joined, baying at some nameless thing in the depths beyond the right bank. 

"What is making that hideous racket?" Prince Vegeta asked. He leaned against the bow, watching the Styx flow by. 

"It sounds almost like Garm--if there were a pack of him." Modgudh observed. 

The Ferryman grunted. "Cerberus. Guards Tarterus." He lounged against the sternpost, one hand resting lightly on the steering oar. 

Kadru perked up. "The three-headed dog who guards the Underworld in ' _The Odyssey_ ' and ' _The Twelve Labors of Hercules_ '?" 

Everyone stared at Kadru. "Where did you learn that?" demanded Vegeta. 

The Naga princess looked indignant. "I'm not ignorant; I had a proper education, you know. I've studied all the classics, both Western and Eastern." 

"Another giant dog guardian? What is this obsession with canines? I would think demons or soldiers would make better guards!" Vegeta folded his arms and sneered. 

The Ferryman chuckled. "You'll see those." 

The black ship rounded a bend in the river, and came out between widening canyon walls. Above them, the Ferryman's passengers could see a vast blueviolet dimness; ahead, a vast cliff. The Styx flowed into a vast cave mouth in the cliff; in it, something glowed. 

"Now what?" asked Vegeta. 

"The Twelve Hours of Night," rumbled the Ferryman. "Good timing. Ra is just ahead of us." 

Modgudh's fleshless face turned toward the Ferryman. "So I'm an ignorant country girl--who is Ra and why is this good timing?" 

"Sun god of Khem. Better to be behind him, and not catch up to him, than be ahead of him, and be overtaken by him. He makes things a bit hot," the dark being stated laconically. 

Vegeta laughed mockingly. "You people actually believe that Earth's primary star disappears into the underworld at night? How ridiculous! Even children know that the planet rotates on its axis to create day and night." 

The Ferryman smiled a toothy smile. "In the world of the living, yes. You're not there, are you?" 

Prince Vegeta scowled, and fell silent. He made his way back to the bow, and stared out at the river, waiting. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XVI. AFTERSHOCK


	17. XVI. Aftershock

## XVI. AFTERSHOCK

"IIIIAAAAA!" Vegeta flung the three-headed crocodile-demon across the barge and back into the Stygian Nile from whence it had come--minus its heart and a few other vital organs. A back kick disposed of the serpent man that thought it was sneaking up on him. 

CHUNK! Modgudh decapitated the last of the serpent men. She'd armed herself with a bronze khopesh and hide shield wrested from one of their attackers, and had hacked her way through the crowd with wild abandon. 

The water boiled as the giant twenty-headed fire-breathing snake-demon sank limply back into the river--all but one of its heads were crushed by the Ferryman's black mace. 

The Naga princess coiled around the base of the mast, a khopesh gripped in each of her six hands. Vegeta still wasn't sure where the extra four arms had come from, or when, but Kadru had given a good account of herself--there was an impressive pile of serpent-demon corpses around the mast. 

"Is that the last of this trash?" the Prince of the Saiyajin snarled. 

The Ferryman looked the length of the boat, up, and around. "Looks like." 

Modgudh wiped her blade clean, and then began methodically stripping corpses of weapons and tossing the bodies overboard. At Vegeta's contemptous sneer, she said mildly, "You may kill godwolves with your bare hands--I like a good blade myself. However, I'll make do with these brazen weed choppers." 

Vegeta turned on his heel to glare at the Ferryman. "I thought you said you had an _agreement_ with the gods of the Hours!" 

"The _gods_ , yes. Those krjalk snakes are god-enemies. No agreement with them," the Ferryman growled in his bass voice. He shrugged. "Just hit 'em a lot; they stop after a while." 

Vegeta smirked. They had sailed smoothly through the First Hour, and, after exchanging questions with the officious gatekeeper godling, through the gates of the Second Hour. About half way through the Second Hour, the snake-demons attacked. 

Vegeta thought it had been an amusing warm-up, and a welcome distraction in the hereto uneventful and BORING river voyage. He turned to stare at Kadru. "When did YOU learn to fight?" 

She glared at him, pouting indignantly as usual. "Occasionally a maiden must defend her own virtue; it would be unwise to be totally dependent on another." She closed her eyes modestly. "My mother taught me how to defend myself." 

Vegeta blinked. She turns into a six-armed mowing machine--and she considers it 'maidenly self-defense'?? What do the nagas do when they are _serious_ about fighting?? 

Vegeta paced the length of the ship, kicking a few corpses back into the river. "Now what? Will they try it again?" The Saiyan prince looked hopeful. 

"Maybe. Not likely." The Ferryman slouched at the steering oar again. 

"Why not? Are they that cowardly?" Vegeta asked scornfully. 

"Boat's mine. I am of the Dark. Krjalk snakes are Apep's. Apep is the Serpent of Darkness." The Ferryman shrugged. "We're not natural enemies." 

Vegeta's eyes narrowed. "So what are you--natural allies?" 

"Mmph. Nope. Different darks." The dark boatman cocked his head slightly, watching Vegeta. Yet again, Vegeta heard that strange high chirping. "Maybe not so different. Sun is Apep's enemy, sun is my enemy. Different methods; they fight the sun, I stay away from it." 

"What about this Apep?" 

"Big stupid snake. Should be dead for the day by the time we get there. If not.. could be trouble." The Ferryman shifted slightly on the oar. 

"Why? Would he attack us?" Vegeta asked eagerly. 

"If he thinks my boat is the sun barge, yes. Otherwise," the boatman shrugged, "don't know. He's stupid, but very strong." 

Vegeta smirked. "Good! I hope he's strong," the dead prince said, his eyes alight with anticipation, as he leaned against the gunwale, watching and waiting. 

*      *      *      *

"Did everyone get out?" Bulma asked worriedly, looking at the ruins of Capsule Corps HQ. Trunks was in his grandpa's house, having a bath and getting cleaned up; Nezumi and Raditz stood with Bulma. 

"As far as I know," she continued, "Raditz and I were the only ones left on the top floor--it was Friday afternoon, after all." 

Nezumi looked increasingly worried. "Mr. Hiregumi was still working when I left to pick up Trunks--he was staying late to take care of some things Kidoru was supposed to do today. If he's still there.." Her big brown eyes filled with tears. 

"There's no one alive in there," Raditz said abruptly. 

Nezumi bit her lip and looked away. "We have to make sure.." 

"I'm sure," said Raditz. 

"Is that really necessary?" Bulma asked archly. 

"I told you once before, I don't believe in comforting lies," the big Saiyan answered. 

"You also said you knew when to keep your mouth shut, if I remember correctly," Bulma retorted. 

"This isn't the time. That rubble is loose and dangerous. No need to go in there in a hurry and get someone killed if there's nothing under there but corpses. Take the time to do it right. There's enough people dead already today." Raditz's face was impassive, devoid of even his usual scowl. 

"Maybe he left before the quake.." Nezumi tried to find one last bit of hope. 

Raditz shook his head. "No. Hiregumi-san.. is dead." 

"You heartless bastard! You say that like it was nothing! Don't you have any feelings at all?" Nezumi's tears ran freely. She turned to Bulma "Ms. Bulma, if you will excuse me, I don't think you will need me to drive you anywhere today anyway." 

At Bulma's nod, she walked away, back straight, chin up and eyes filled with angry tears. 

Bulma whirled to face Raditz, angry words at the tip of her tongue--and stopped. His face was still expressionless; both his hands were held down at his side, fists clenched. 

He looked at Bulma. "I felt him die; his ki faded away right after the collapse--when I was hovering above the building with you. He was the only one still in the building besides us." Raditz looked away. "Strange.. he had no power to speak of, yet I respected him. He taught me things I never even conceived of about my own profession--and I mean my REAL profession, not that 'Planet Trade' death squad business of Frieza's. He was smart, and he was tough--and I don't mean physically--and he had the gift of being able to teach his hard-earned experience to others--even me." 

Bulma shuddered; it was just too much, on top of everything else. "Raditz, take me inside--I can't stand to look at this anymore! No, not my parent's house--I don't want to face them right now--my place--if it's still standing." 

It was. The small one-story Capsule houses had ridden out the quake all over the city--the hemisphere dome was tremendously strong and not vulnerable to the whiplash effects that toppled skyscrapers. 

Her house should have been a sanctuary from the disaster outside--but the earthquake had left its mark here, too. Bulma stared in horror at all the little things thrown to the floor, broken or disarrayed. She trembled as she picked up one of her favorite pictures of Vegeta and Trunks--the glass was cracked, the frame bent. It was the last straw. 

She threw herself at a surprised Raditz, held onto him, leaned her head against his warm chest and cried, a storm of inner pain bursting loose. Almost instinctively he put his arms around her and held her while she wept. 

Raditz looked down at the beautiful blue-haired woman in his arms, finally understanding as her tears stripped away the last of the armor from his heart. You've found my weakness, woman; I care about you. It isn't just duty anymore. It hasn't been that since I stepped between you and the Opawang, and died your death. 

Sometimes I think it's because you remind me of Luki--she had blue hair, too--but she was nothing like you. Other times, I think it started with the strange bond you created when you took my scouter for your own--I saw you from Hell, then. Maybe it started when you stood with Kakarott at our first meeting, so long ago; I don't know. I just know that I care for you, I would die again for you, and I will kill anyone or anything that tries to hurt you. 

And I cannot endure your tears. Raditz could feel her tiring from the force of her own sobs; he picked her up and laid her down on a couch, and sat beside her. She curled up next him, comforted by his warmth and strength; the big Saiyan held her and tenderly stroked her hair. 

After a time, Bulma lifted her head and looked intently at Raditz's face, as if searching for some sign. "Raditz.." She sighed, and pulled away slightly. "I like you, but..." 

"I know." His face was not quite as impassive as he intended; Bulma could see the regret in his eyes, in the set of his mouth. 

"This is--" she began again. 

"--not right." He finished. "I should leave now. I meant to.. help, but I'm only good at hurting." He stood, and Bulma rose with him. 

She held his big hands in her small, delicate hands. "Raditz! You helped more than you know." She stood on tiptoes, threw her arms around Raditz's neck, and kissed him, much to his surprise. Before he recovered from his split-second of shock, Bulma let go and stepped back. 

"Thank you." Bulma smiled, wiping her tears away with one hand. "Vegeta is my mate and my heart and half my soul," she said, "but YOU are more than just a friend, just like your little brother. I do love you both, but not _that_ way--and you know that. You are right, you do need to leave, but don't go too far--and come back soon!" 

Raditz looked at her thoughtfully, and then said, with just a hint of a smile, "I'm not going all that far!" 

Bulma smiled knowingly, and just before he flew away, said, "Give Son-kun my love, Raditz." 

*      *      *      *

Unfriendly eyes watched Raditz go. <He leaves them alone, Great Deputy!> Scout informed Deputy via their mindlink. <He goes to Son Goku>. 

<Excellent, my Scout! You know the plan; execute it!> Deputy heaved himself from the filth and toxic mud of his lair, and shook his wings clean of encumbering sludge. 

<Enforcer!> Deputy hunched on his powerful back legs as he waited for the shadow demon to respond. 

<Master?> A sleepy query; it was still daylight, and the shadow demon was a night creature. 

<Your opportunity comes. Raditz has left the city, and will not return. You have your orders; carry them out!> With a powerful leap, Deputy surged into the air, his ponderous wings flapping lazily as he gained altitude and speed. 

It was time to deal with Raditz. 

*      *      *      *

Upon a mountaintop not too many miles distant from Son Goku's humble dwelling, a certain Namek meditated. Something curious caught his eye. 

"What manner of creature is that, and what is its business?" Piccolo wondered. "Strange that I cannot sense its ki; another android?" 

The green warrior rose into the air. "And over there travels a ki I do recognize," he muttered with some distaste. "Raditz. I thought it was safe to forget him years ago. They must be getting sloppy in Hell, to let him out! It makes a certain perverse sense that it would be Bulma who wished him back." 

"I think I'll keep an eye on this; it just might get interesting." 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XVII. REVELATION


	18. XVII. Revelation

## XVII. REVELATION

Raditz blasted through the sky toward Son Goku's house in the mountains. He took no notice of the natural beauty all around and below him; his thoughts were elsewhere. 

Her heart belongs to Vegeta--I could hate him for that, for meeting her first.. only he didn't. I met her first, on that tiny island--yet another wonderful chance thrown away by my own stupidity. Damn, damn, DAMN! 

I want her--gods, I desire her!--but it would be just plain WRONG. Even I know that. We Saiyajin had that right, at least--stealing another man's mate is just plain wrong. And seducing my prince's consort.. I have no word for the depth of betrayal and evil in that! 

For my sake, for her sake, I can't stay near her--but I have to! I'm sworn to protect her! I can only hope that Kakarott is wiser than I; I can't see a way out of this tangle. 

A flash of something yellow caught Raditz's eye. Welcoming the distraction from his own tormented thoughts, he looked--there it was! A familiar mottled yellow and brown winged shape flying just above the treetops--the dinosaur-demon called Sekko-Ma! 

Raditz grinned fiercely as he turned and dove toward the demon. "You picked the wrong day to find me, demon! Hell, any day would be the wrong day for you!" He rocketed down, battle-lust singing in his heart. 

*      *      *      *

On the Stygian Nile... 

The only sound was the creak of the steering oar as the great black boat floated down the dark waters. Her single black squaresail was furled; no breath of wind disturbed the Fourth Hour of Night. The Ferryman leaned but lightly against the oar; this stretch of the Twelve Hours of Night was calm and gently flowing. 

Vegeta lounged against the gunwale, affecting a air of complete boredom while watching and listening, alert to everything around him. Kadru and Modgudh were out of sight, stashing the junk they'd collected from the serpent-men in the bilges for some stupid reason. Vegeta didn't really care why, but he did appreciate that they were out of sight and out of his hair for the time being. 

"Hmmm.. interesting," the Ferryman observed. Mighty thews flexed as the dark boatman swung the steering oar over. 

Prince Vegeta dropped his air of boredom. Anything that interested the Ferryman, interested him. "What now?" 

"A new ghost. Wants a pickup. Hmmph. Probably running from those krjalk demi-gods that barbecue sinners along this stretch." 

"What is so interesting about a new ghost in the underworld? Have people suddenly stopped dying since I left Earth?" Vegeta scowled. 

"Hmmph. They stopped coming _here_ millenia ago--since anyone last followed the gods of old Khem. Egypt, you foreigners call it. Looks noble, too." The Ferryman bared sharp teeth and tusks in his version of a smirk. 

The black boat's prow bumped gently against the bank; the ghost floundered awkwardly aboard. He wore tattered yellow robes and the charred remnants of a leopardskin cape; he had the high features and sharp nose that Prince Vegeta had seen adorning every royal scuplture and wall painting along the Twelve Hours. Unlike those impassive sculptures, this face was set in a scowl, and angry frustration flashed in his dark eyes. Something, demon or beast-god, howled in the darkness beyond, and the Ferryman quickly sculled his boat off the bank, back into the current. 

"Took you long enough," the ghost snarled. "They nearly had me. Damn them all!" 

The Ferryman rumbled mildly, "Some say patience is a virtue; it serves me well. Some also say beggars can't be choosers; I know kindly Ra would not have offered you a place on his barge. You stink of evil; you avoid the Devourer only because Anubis cannot find one improperly laid to rest." 

The ghost glared at the Ferryman, and at his only visible passenger. The dead prince regarded him thoughtfully, arms folded. "The good Ferryman tells me that none have come to this underworld in over two millenia. Who are you, and why are you here now?" 

"Only Osiris may know my True Name, and I come here after five thousand years--I, who was a prince of Khem, Adept of Thoth, immortal, undying, master of spirits--I am brought low by the ignoble whelps of a bestial race." His face was terrible to see. "I know their names, and the names of their fathers, and from the Abyss I will curse them as only the dead can curse-- Such woe and grief will I bring on Gohan, son of Goku; Trunks, son of Vegeta; Bulma, consort of Vegeta and mother of Trunks; and Raditz, brother of Goku, that they will beg for death and curse the day of their birth. I will bring upon them--" 

"--Will you? I think not!" snarled Prince Vegeta, as his hair flamed golden. Vegeta was on him in a flash of golden light, slamming his good hand into the ghost's breast and seizing his heart. The Saiyan pulled the sorceror up to his face. 

The dead sorceror stared at Vegeta in astonishment and horrified recognition. "YOU! You are the brat's dead father!" 

"So you're the 'bad one' Gohan and Raditz killed!" Vegeta smirked. He snarled suddenly, "THEN WHY CURSE MY MATE AND CHILD, YOU TRASH??" The dead prince squeezed the sorceror's heart in his hand. 

"AHHHHHH!" The ancient sorceror gasped in pain. "You damned beast-spawn! You dare--" His anger was choked off by a moan of agony as Vegeta gave another squeeze. 

"Answer the question, filth!" Vegeta growled. 

"She made the wish.. summoned that damned spirit warrior Raditz.. wasted MY wish from the kami of the spring.. coerced the kami into betraying ME, the disloyal wench! The child slew my fairest Ochimo, the Ochimo of Air.." The Opawang gasped in pain as Vegeta's grip shifted. 

Prince Vegeta smirked, plainly pleased. "He did, did he? Well, he is his father's son!" 

The Opawang's face writhed with hate. "Too late for them!" He shrieked. "Even as I was slain and dragged below, I called on the Child of Chaos to fulfill our pact! I will be avenged; the whole world shall be my funeral offering!" 

"Oh, really?" Vegeta's voice was oddly calm; turquoise-green eyes regarded the sorceror cooly. The corner of his mouth turned upward, as if he smiled at some private jest. "And why do you think Raditz or Gohan will not destroy this 'Child of Chaos'? They killed YOU-- 'immortal' and 'undying' you called yourself, did you not?" 

"Fool! Why would I make such a pact with something no stronger than myself? I am NOTHING compared to the Spawn of Wakboth! I gained such power as to be worth any cost--what care I if Chaos devours the world after I am slain? I am done with the world, and it with me--but my vengeance shall shake the very heavens!" 

Vegeta's eyes widened with startled understanding, and still further with rage, and he rose into the air above the ship, still carrying the dead sorceror. "WHAT DID YOU DO, YOU BASTARD??" 

The Opawang's laugh was cruel and ugly. "I opened the way to the living world for the Child of Chaos; my price was power and vengeance! It is bound to fulfill my death curse, do what it will with the rest of the world!" He lowered his voice almost to a whisper, cutting with cold contempt, "and I see the demon-god has begun well--in slaying YOU, he brought woe and despair to your wench and your bastard brat!" 

With a scream of rage, Vegeta plunged downward, still holding the damned sorceror. At the last moment, he veered toward the shore, and flung the Opawang down to smash into the river bank amidst a group of lion-headed gods and naked goddesses. The sorceror hit hard, very hard, digging a crater several feet deep. 

Prince Vegeta hovered above, watching, as the naked goddesses waved long bronze knives and descended on the stunned Opawang, hacking and chopping him. A cold smirk spread across the dead prince's face as the vengeance goddesses carried the Opawang away, in chunks, to the firepits that burned eternally along the shore. 

"Now, demon, I know your reasons! Soon.. I'll have your secrets-- and your life!" Vegeta laughed wickedly. 

*      *      *      *

Raditz laughed as he snapped his fist out in a hard blow below the creature's ribs; at last, a decent fight! 

It dodged. As before, the demon moved with incredible swiftness, and lashed out with the great gutting claw on its foot. Raditz blocked it with a mocking laugh. He blocked the second kick. 

"I know your tricks, demon! You're fast, but not strong!" Raditz snarled. He drew one hand back; a ball of light began to form. 

Scout's head snapped back; his neck frill flared. Warned by the demon's moves, Raditz dodged, leaning his head to one side as the demon spat its sticky green venom past his ear. 

The ki ball was almost fully charged; Raditz tensed his arm-- 

\--and something slammed him brutally in the back! He lost control of the ki ball and it flew off to detonate harmlessly against the ground. Raditz himself was hurled down to crater into the ground. As he hauled himself out of the dirt, something broad whipped around from behind and caught him just under the ribs, sending him hurtling past a monstrous winged form and smashing through several trees. 

Raditz tumbled and pulled himself out, gaining control of his flight through the forest. He flew up, above the treetops; his opponent was there to meet him. 

"What the??" This wasn't any dinosaur! 

Huge, blatantly male gargoyle body the size of a very large house, leathery wings, long supple tail, powerful hindlegs tipped with great claws, long sinewy arms ending in razor-clawed hands, a head like some monstrous horned dog with bat ears and jagged, venom-dripping teeth, baleful red eyes--head, arms and torso covered in mud-slimed fur, bare wings, fine scales on the hind legs and tail.. Deputy grinned at Raditz, showing all of his teeth. 

"Now," it said in a basso growl, "you die." 

"Heh." Raditz sneered in contempt. He rocketed down and around--the great demon shifted slowly to face him. Raditz smirked; the thing was much slower than he was! Probably weaker.. Raditz suddenly realized with some consternation that he could not sense the demon's power. It wasn't low--it just wasn't there! Hidden power; maybe a lot of hidden power. He grinned again; this was going to be a good fight! 

"HAAAAI!" Raditz dove in, slipped under a wing, and hammered on the thing's side just under the ribs. A flurry of blows, and the demon arched its back-- 

WHAMM! The leading edge of the nearest wing cuffed Raditz on the side of the head, knocking him away. He shook his head, slightly dazed. How'd that wing move so fast? 

Flapping wings behind him--Raditz dodged Scout's clumsy attack; as usual, Scout dodged Raditz's counterpunch. 

"You should have stayed away!" Raditz growled as he charged up a ki ball in his hand again. This time, he dodged Deputy's blow to his back--and flung the ki ball into the great demon's face. 

BOOM! Deputy yowled, a harsh metal-scream sound, and shook his head from side to side like a dog with a noseful of cayenne. His facial fur looked singed, and it smoked. 

Scout's ineffectual kicks raked Raditz's back, but his defense kept them from doing any real damage--though he'd need a new jacket. Tiring of the dinosaur-demon's nonsense, Raditz suddenly snapped a hand back and grabbed the creature's right foot; his shoulder muscles tightened as he heaved the beast over his shoulder and into Deputy's face. 

Deputy batted his servant aside, and hissed. The smaller demon blinked, and dove away, twisting and turning as it skimmed the treetops, heading away from the fight and toward the city. 

"Now it's just you and me, ugly," Raditz said, a fierce grin on his face, and a fiercer joy in his heart. He dove at the demon, doubled his fists, and slammed the side of the demon's hideous jaws hard enough to snap the creature's head to one side. He followed up with an overhand blow to the thing's head-- 

It laughed at him. Deputy turned his monstrous head back to face Raditz, showing no signs of injury. 

"Now it's my turn." His jaws opened wide and vomited fire at Raditz. The Saiyan warrior's eyes went wide just before the blast of fiery ki hit. 

When the smoke cleared, Raditz was still there, hands crossed over his face in a ki block. His clothes smoked and smouldered. "I should have worn armor," he muttered. "A scouter might have been smart, too." 

Raditz dodged the demon's razor talons, block, block, counter-strike, strike... no good. His best blows weren't doing enough damage to this monster. He rocketed up and away from the demon, ki beginning to glow in his hand. 

With slow flaps of his ponderous wings, Deputy rose to meet him. 

"Perfect.. hold that pose just a bit longer.... HAIIIII-YA!" Raditz hurled a brilliant white bolt of ki down into the demon's face-- 

\--and Deputy flung up one taloned hand and batted it away. A flash of aura-- 

He does have a lot of power! Raditz realized. I still can't sense it for some reason! 

\--Deputy again vomited out a fiery bolt of ki. Raditz blasted back; the two beams of ki met and splashed, a fierce battle of wills and power. Inch by inch, Raditz's beam smashed its way down the stream of contending ki, pushing the demon's fire back and back. 

Deputy spasmed, coughing up another, larger gout of fire that surged up the beam, pushed back, and devoured Raditz's ki blast as it exploded in his face. Raditz barely managed a block; the force of the blast tossed him through the air. He barely regained control in time to land. 

His jacket was gone, blown to shreds and his jeans were torn and tattered. Raditz pulled off the burnt rags that had once been a shirt, uncurled his tail and switched it from side to side, then curled it about his waist again. 

"Now I'm getting angry," the long-haired Saiyan growled. He screamed as power began to seethe around him. The ground shook, and small pebbles and twigs rose into the air as the warrior gathered power. 

"Fool." Deputy landed nearby. "I am the spawn of Cacodemon, Child of Wakboth the Devil. You are NOTHING!" 

With a harsh screech, it leaped into the air, coming down to attack Raditz as he gathered the last of his power in. Raditz dodged the clawed foot, smirking--but Raditz never fought Frieza or he would have been more careful-- 

\--of the tail! Deputy's tail whipped forward and smashed into the side of Raditz's head, twisting it around with neck-popping force. Raditz was flung back and away by the blow, crashing to earth like some discarded rag doll flung from the window of a passing car. 

The Saiyan warrior staggered slowly to his feet; stabbing pain in his neck told of damage done. Probably cracked a few vertebrae, he thought. He spat out blood and a broken tooth, but carefully refrained from shaking his head to clear it of the confusion and blurriness. 

Deputy landed behind him and lashed out with glistening razor-sharp talons. Raditz screamed as the talons raked his back; an acidic slime glistened wet on the demon's talons, a slime that entered the talon wounds and ate at his flesh, blistering and dissolving it before being diluted and washed away by Raditz's flowing blood. 

Great chunks of black hair fell to the ground, sliced away by the demon's talons. Raditz tried to dodge before the next blow hit, but the demon's damned tail swept his legs out from under him. He fell face down, and rolled quickly over, just in time to avoid the demon's clawed hind foot slashing down. 

He rolled again, and grabbed the monster's tail. Raditz smirked as the demon arched his tail and snapped him off, high into the air--it was exactly what he wanted! He gathered ki; energy crackled and glowed in both hands. 

Deputy flapped up towards him again, red eyes glowing. "Come on, you bastard.." Raditz muttered to himself. "Hurry it up!" The big Saiyan felt the warm blood still running down his back from the festering talon wounds; he was already starting to weaken. "I was saving this one for my next spar with Kakarott--your luck to get to see it first!" He grinned as the energy built up in each hand. 

Then Raditz saw what he'd been watching for: the demon's neck muscles bunching, getting ready to vomit out fire again. 

"MAN-KI-BATSU!" Raditz brought both hands together in front of him--a brilliant white flash, and a tremendous beam of white ki edged with incandescent purple slammed down into the demon's face, catching Deputy in his open jaws. The demon's own fire exploded in his face, and the great demon was flung back and down as Raditz's beam blasted through its mouth and out the back of its neck, burning the flesh from its skull in its searing passage. 

Raditz landed gently, chest heaving with the exertion. Across the newly made clearing, the fallen demon sprawled atop the trees knocked down in his crash. Raditz's neck hurt, and by sheer will he shut out the screaming agony of his back. The breeze was cool on his bare, blood- and dirt-streaked chest. 

"I got you. It took everything I've got, but I got you, you son of a bitch!" Raditz smirked-- 

\--and Deputy got up. 

Raditz's eyes went wide; the demon's terrible neck wound was closing before his eyes; the half-charred skull rippled as flesh crawled across it, regenerating. 

"Oh, crud. A regenerator... and I've got nothing left." 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XVIII. VENOM


	19. XVIII. Venom

## XVIII. VENOM

Modgudh and Kadru were already back on deck when Vegeta dropped lightly on to the deck just aft of the mainmast. The Ferryman looked around, sweeping his muzzle from side to side, making that high chirping sound that only Vegeta's ears could hear. He then looked at Vegeta steadily. 

"What do you want?" the Saiyan prince snapped. 

"You should not have done that," the Ferryman rumbled. 

Vegeta's eyes widened, and he sneered, "Too bad! That damned sorceror--" 

"Not him. You--turning into a sun spirit. There will be trouble," the Ferryman growled. 

"Huh? What happened?" asked Kadru, puzzled. 

"Of course--I go into the bilge for a few minutes, and something interesting happens." Modgudh laughed. "At least there's more fun to come, if our gloomy captain is correct." 

Vegeta smirked, and looked sidelong at the Ferryman. "So.. you think the snake will mistake ME for the sun god, and this boat for the solar barge? That's a very stupid snake." 

"Sun god takes the same route, same time, every night. Snake still hasn't pulled off a good ambush." 

"That's a very stupid snake." 

*      *      *      *

"Mama?" Little Goten looked out the window while his mother Chi-chi cooked soup on the old wooden stove in the corner. She didn't use it very often; only times like this, when earthquakes or typhoons knocked out the electricity. Living up in the mountains far from nosy neighbors had many advantages, but one disadvantage was that the Son household was dead last on the utility company's list for getting power turned back on. Chichi was used to getting along without electricity for days or weeks at a time. Losing phone service, however, really annoyed her. 

"Yes, honey?" Chi-chi replied absently. She tasted the soup; yes, it definitely needed more leeks. Gohan liked leeks, and he'd be hungry when he got home from school. 

"How far are those mountains? Can I walk there?" Goten was worried about something. 

Goten was very proud of being three, now, and tried hard to talk like the grown-ups--or at least like Trunks! Goten adored the older boy, and followed him everywhere when he and Raditz visited. He could hardly wait to start training with Trunks! 

Chi-chi washed some more leeks and chopped the roots off. "They're several miles away, honey--too far for a little boy to walk. If you want to see them, wait until your Daddy gets home, and he'll take you on Kintouen." 

"I need to go now! N'uncle Raditz is hurt," Goten said carefully, looking more worried. "I think he's fighting something bad." 

Chi-chi froze and looked hard at Goten. "You aren't going anywhere, young man! If Raditz is getting hurt fighting something, it is far too dangerous for my baby boy! We'll tell your father when he gets home, and he'll take care of it." 

Goten pouted, but said nothing. He stood at the window, trying to watch events far beyond his vision. 

*      *      *      *

Raditz crashed hard into the ground, flung by Deputy's lashing tail. The pain in his neck was worse, and his right arm was numb from the elbow on down. Blood trickled out of his nose and the corners of his mouth. Above the clearing, the waxing gibbous moon on the horizon mocked him, so near to full, yet not full. 

The great demon toyed with him, leaping into the air and coming down with hindclaws extended, just slowly enough for Raditz to dodge out of the way--then he kicked Raditz across the clearing, watching as the saiyan warrior doubled up, coughing blood. Just as Raditz started to get to his feet, Deputy knocked him down, slashing across his chest with acid-slimed talons. 

The demon leaped into the air; this time Raditz didn't have the strength left to dodge, and could only watch numbly as the great hindclaws slammed down on his body. The saiyan was mildly surprised; it wasn't a killing blow--the great demon pinned him to the ground, its claws wrapped around his torso. 

Deputy bent over and grinned at his prey, pinned beneath his claws like a mouse beneath a cat's paw. The demon licked his long barbed tongue against his teeth and tittered mockingly. Then he lashed out with his poisoned tongue and probed the bleeding gashes on Raditz's chest, lapping up the fresh blood and whatever bits of flesh his barbed tongue hooked. 

Raditz convulsed with fresh agony. "Damn you!" 

"No," giggled Deputy, pausing in its blood-tasting. "Damned are you." It squeezed Raditz's chest in its massive claws; there was a dull crack and a brief cry of pain as the first rib snapped. "Listen." 

"Why should I?" gasped Raditz, fury and hate in his eyes. 

"You must suffer and despair before you die," Deputy hissed. "Do you know what I am going to do?" It squeezed his ribs again, snapping another one. 

"Kill me?--I figured that part out already." Something about imminent death brought back Raditz's natural sarcasm. "What you're going to do is die when Kakarott catches up with you. Heh." 

The demon giggled again. "Son Goku will not be able to find me before he has much bigger concerns!" The demon leaned closer, grinning. "Taste despair at your own failure--dead, you will not stop me from taking the woman Bulma and the child Trunks. Dead, you will not stop my followers from taking the child Goten. Dead, you will not aid your brother when Cacodemon arises to destroy him and the youth Gohan! Dead, your soul will join Vegeta's, devoured to feed Cacodemon's power--your own power used against your brother and nephew! Is that not sweet?" 

Vegeta's soul, destroyed?? That cannot be! I met him in Hell! The demon lies! Raditz's eyes widened in fury, and he fought to pull himself out from under Deputy's claws in spite of his agony. 

Deputy growled; something was wrong. The prey should be paralysed with guilt and despair, not fighting back in anger! "Fool. You cannot escape me." It tightened its grip, grinning as it felt two ribs snap simultaneously. 

"Listen to what I will do with the woman Bulma, now that you will soon be dead and helpless to protect her. Imagine also that her child Trunks will witness, and suffer the same fate--and the child Goten will go to feed the appetites of my demons." Then Deputy giggled, and told Raditz in obscene and horrific detail how he and his broo would torment and destroy the beautiful blue-haired woman and her child. 

Raditz was screaming with rage and despair long before Deputy finished. 

*      *      *      *

"MAMA!" Tears started from Goten's eyes; he was frantic. "Nunk Rats is hurt very bad, we HAVE to go help him! PLEASE!" 

Chi-chi looked at her son; in his panic, he'd forgotten all his careful grown-up speech and grabbed on to her, bawling hysterically. 

"I'll call your father; maybe he's close enough to hear." She said, trying to calm her hysterical son. Chi-chi stepped outside. 

"GOKU! GOKU, COME HOME! GOKU! ANSWER ME!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. No answer; he was too far away. 

Goten followed her outside. "DADDY!" He looked at his mother. "Mama! Can't you go? PLEASE, find Daddy! Nunk Rats won't be fun anymore soon." 

Chi-chi nodded grimly. "Wait here while I take care of things." She went inside, banked the fire, picked up a Dragunov heavy sniper rifle, loaded it, and towed Goten with her to the hangar. It only took her a few minutes to fire up the stubby little canard-nosed ground-effect plane, and they were off, searching for Goku. 

*      *      *      *

Piccolo looked down to where Deputy was tormenting the helpless Raditz. He snarled, baring one fang; the Namek's keen ears had picked up every detail of the great demon's hideous plans. 

"This has gotten a bit too interesting," the turbaned green warrior growled to himself. "I don't give a damn what happens to that wretched Saiyan, but..." He plunged down. 

Deputy's massive head snapped up as the white-cloaked alien warrior appeared before him. Its eyes narrowed; the demon could sense some power here, and suspected more that was hidden. "Interloper! This is no concern of yours!" 

"Don't be so sure about that. Your plans are a major concern of mine," the Namek stated calmly. "You're done with Raditz; face me now!" 

I can't sense the demon's power, but I have watched him fight Raditz--unless he was holding back the greater part of his power, he's a lot weaker than I. Piccolo slid into fighting stance, flexing his muscles. 

Deputy eyed him warily. <SCOUT!>

<Deputy?>

<You did not tell me of a green alien warrior, wearing purple, a white turban, and a white cloak. Tell me of him now, my loyal Scout!>

<Great Deputy! I do not know of this creature--unless he is the entity called Piccolo, of whom the youth Gohan spoke on occasion. I know nothing of him.>

<Useless creature! Go, assist Enforcer in his plans; perhaps you will be more useful to him!>

Deputy cocked his head from one side to the other, looking Piccolo over from several angles. The alien had probably seen him fight, and he was too confident for Deputy's liking. "You are Piccolo. You are not a Saiyan." 

"Well, I see news of me has travelled far. Perceptive, aren't you? Now, what are you going to do?" 

"Leave." Deputy flapped his massive pinions and rose into the air, carrying Raditz's limp body in his huge taloned foot. "You are correct; I am done with Raditz." 

Deputy gave Raditz a final squeeze. caving in his remaining ribs, and snap-kicked, flinging the body into Piccolo's face with considerable force. Instinctively, Piccolo tried to catch the limp form of Raditz; as he did so, Deputy rolled and flitted away with deceptive speed, diving into the irregular valleys and hills. 

By the time Piccolo steadied himself, Deputy had vanished into the forested valleys. Piccolo cursed; he was unable to detect the demon, and with no others to assist him in search, there was no way he could find the monster if it was the least bit intelligent--and it had proven itself to be no fool. 

"Gone." Piccolo glared at the limp body gripped in his right arm; long hair dangled down. "Damn you, Raditz! Even dead, you're a pain in the ass." 

A faint gasp from the seeming corpse. "Not.. quite.. dead.." Raditz's body shuddered; he didn't have the strength to laugh aloud. "Soon... Demon.. poisoned me... Happy now?" A trace of his characteristic sarcasm returned. 

"Great. I think I'll let Son Goku deal with your soon-to-be corpse." Piccolo laughed unpleasantly. "It'd be just my bad luck if you lived long enough for someone to get some senzu into you." The green warrior flew toward Goku's house, still carrying Raditz under one arm. 

"Yeah.. I.. like.. you.. too." Raditz's pained whisper was only audible to the keen ears of the Namek. 

"Do all Saiyans share your delight in talking non-stop when you're dying?" 

"Can't.. fight. Might.. as well.. talk... Won't.. make me.. any.. deader... Heh." 

"The last time we met, it made you dead sooner." 

"Not.. by.. much... Heh." Raditz's body shuddered. "Listen.. you.. heard.. the demon... You.. Kak.. arott.. stop it... Please.." The Saiyan fell silent. 

"Raditz?" There was no answer. "Just my luck. Now where's Son Goku--there! Flying this way, fast." 

Two shooting stars blazed through the evening sky, just south of the frozen full-moon on the horizon. They blazed larger and larger until Piccolo could perceive two figures in the blazing auras--then they came to halt in mid-air before him -- Goku and Gohan. 

Goku looked quizzically at Piccolo. "What happened? Did you and Raditz--" 

"No, Son Goku. Two demons attacked Raditz, one large and one small. The large one did all the damage; your brother is badly injured and will die if not healed soon." 

"Wh-What happened to the demon?" Gohan asked, wide-eyed. 

"I interfered, and it ran away from me." Piccolo did not seem willing to talk further. 

Goku took his wounded brother from Piccolo. "Thank you for saving Raditz, Piccolo. I know you don't like him, but he is my brother." 

"What are you going to do?" Piccolo asked. 

"Take him home, and get some senzu." Goku looked faintly surprised at Piccolo's question. 

"After you do, I need to talk to you--the demon is after Bulma, Trunks and Goten. There isn't time for more than that now," answered the Namek. 

Goku nodded, and blazed into the distance until he was just a shooting star in the sky again. Gohan stayed to talk to Piccolo. 

"There's something you don't want me to know, isn't there?" Gohan sounded disappointed. 

"There are some things I don't want ANYONE to know until I've talked it over with Goku," Piccolo replied. "Even he doesn't need to know all the details. Some details should never be known by anyone," he concluded, anger on his face. "Keep an eye on your little brother; tell your father I'm going to check on Bulma and Trunks." 

*      *      *      *

<Scout! Enforcer! Prepare our followers--I will be initiating them on the next night!> Deputy advised the sub-demons. <All is in readiness?>

<Yes, Master> answered Enforcer. <Already my sorceror goes about his task. He is the best of the lot; bestow your mark and favor on him.>

<If he accomplishes this task, he will have great favor indeed!> Deputy was pleased; all was according to plan. 

<Great Deputy! I await the opportunity,> hailed Scout. 

<See that you do not miss it when it appears!> snarled Deputy, displeased with Scout on general principles. 

<Yes, Great Deputy!>

*      *      *      *

"You see, Oshimu, your lackwitted compatriot did do one thing useful," Voron noted as he held up a plastic card to the light. 

"What's that?" the burly thug in the black commando-style shirt and fatigues asked. 

"He grabbed a mid-level in the security department--which means WE have all his security passes, keys, and IDs. Keys to the kingdom, my lad, keys to the kingdom." Voron laughed unpleasantly, and pulled the plastic card through the electronic lock with a flourish. 

With a buzz and a click, it opened, admitting Voron's team to the ruins of the Capsule Corp compound. The team spread out, each going to their assigned position; Oshimu stayed close to Voron. Both carried air rifles and air pistols of unusual design. 

Voron concentrated a bit, then smiled. "Good. Whoever's in charge of security is either inexperienced, or short-handed--they're guarding the attractive areas for looters instead of securing the perimeter. This is going to be easy, gentlemen--but do stay alert!" 

It _was_ easy--Voron simply walked up to the front door, waited while Oshimu turned off the alarm and oiled the lock, and turned his stolen master key in the lock. 

PFFT! PFFT! One heavy dart from the rifle for the child, one small dart from the pistol for the woman and it was done. Bulma and Trunks were in the hands of the enemy. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XIX. SERPENT OF DARKNESS


	20. XIX. Serpent of Darkness

## XIX. SERPENT OF DARKNESS

Goku dashed frantically around the house, looking in jars and boxes--and driving Chi-chi nuts. 

"Goku! Just tell me what you are looking for!" She picked up yet another bag he'd tossed down from the shelf. 

"Senzu! There's got to be some around here; I know I had at least one left!" Goku's usually sunny face was clouded with worry. 

"You mean the one that WAS in this box?" Chi-chi asked, holding out a small wooden puzzle box, open and empty. "I gave it to Gohan for the burns he got fighting that evil sorceror. You're just going to have to get more from Karin--or take Raditz to a hospital." 

BANG! Gohan rushed in the front door, letting it fall shut behind him. "Dad, Piccolo said--" 

"GOHAN!" Chi-chi put her hands on her hips, furious. "Is that how I brought you up? Is that how I taught you to enter the house?" 

"I'm sorry, mom.. I didn't mean to let the door slam," Gohan said meekly. "Dad, it won't do any good to take Raditz to a hospital--they're all wrecked, and the ones that aren't, are full." Gohan said somberly. 

"What?" Goku looked surprised. "What happened?" 

"That earthquake.. you felt it, it was really, really bad in the city. That's why I was late getting home from school, mom--the bus was stranded, and I was taking the other kids home so their parents wouldn't worry about them." 

"Oh, Gohan!" Chi-chi hugged her eldest son. "I'm proud of you!" Goku beamed, also pleased with his son. 

"I'm going to Karin Tower. Take care of my brother, Chi-chi; I'll be back as soon as I can." Goku put two fingers to his forehead, concentrated for a second, and was gone in a flash. 

Chi-chi stepped into the darkened bedroom where Raditz lay shivering. Goten crouched beside the bed, looking forlorn; he refused to leave his uncle's side, and Chi-chi hadn't the heart to drag him away. In her heart, she doubted that Raditz would live to the next sunrise--unless Goku returned very soon with senzu. 

She and Goku had cleaned and bandaged the terrible gashes on Raditz's back and chest and taped up his broken ribs. Those were bad, but they weren't bad enough to kill Goku's long-haired brother. Raditz was dying of the demon's poison. 

The long-haired Saiyan drifted in and out of agonized consciousness, alternately sweating and shivering. She didn't need to touch him to feel the heat from the fever ravaging him, nor did Chi-chi need a medical degree to know that his sudden and extreme sensitivity to light, and the red bruises appearing all over his body were bad signs. 

"Hurry back, Goku," Chi-chi whispered. 

*      *      *      *

Piccolo hovered above the damaged Capsule Corp compound. Where would Bulma and Trunks be staying in all this mess? He couldn't sense them anywhere-- which wasn't too surprising where Bulma was concerned, her ki was very weak, but he had expected to sense Trunks. Perhaps the boy had a very low ki when he was sleeping. 

Over there.. Dr. and Mrs. Briefs house. He could sense their weak kis. A sense of forboding filled Piccolo--something was wrong. Finally he touched down in front of the small Capsule house that Bulma had shared with Vegeta. The green warrior touched the door; it slid open. 

"What?" he muttered. "It shouldn't be unlocked!" Piccolo listened; nothing. He stepped inside. 

It was dark; the Namek formed a small ki ball to light the way. Some of the disarray from the earthquake had been straightened up, things picked up and put away, but not all of it. Still no one in sight. Quickly, Piccolo checked the rest of the small house, feeling uncomfortably like an intruder in his rival's house. 

No one here--but two beds were still warm. Someone had slept here; Piccolo plucked a long blue hair from a pillow. "They were here... No signs of a struggle." The light brightened at Piccolo's command; he finally saw the muddy footprints tracked across Bulma's otherwise pristine rugs. 

He set his foot against one of the prints; the mystery footprint was larger. "Not Bulma or Trunks." The Namek's face was grim; he followed the trail back to Trunk's room. As he bent to study the prints, a small object under the bed caught his eye. 

Piccollo reached out and picked it up. "Tranquilizer dart. They've been kidnapped by someone who knew not to let Trunks have a chance to fight back." His fist tightened, crushing the heavy dart. "I'm too late." 

*      *      *      *

"What do you mean, Karin-sama, you don't have any senzu??" Goku danced from one foot to the other, panicking. "My brother will DIE if we can't heal him!" 

"Now, now, Goku, calm down. I said I didn't have any ripe right NOW. There's a nice crop that's almost ripe; it just needs a few more hours of sunlight." The ancient enchanted white cat shuffled from one bush to the next, inspecting the beans. "You can have some tomorrow morning." 

"Tomorrow morning?? Oh, no!" Goku's eyes were huge. "I don't think Raditz will live that long!" 

Karin shook his white-furred head. "I'm sorry, Goku, but you know that unripe beans are no good. I can't make the sun come up any faster." 

Goku stared at Karin. "Make the sun come up faster?" he said, a strange look on his face. "No, you can't." Sudden determination gripped him. "But I can!" He clenched his fist, and started to concentrate, the veins on his temples standing out. Energy started to gather around his hand. "Close your eyes, Karin!" 

Karin shield his eyes at Goku's warning--just in time. The ball of energy in Goku's hand blazed with a blinding light; then Goku threw it into the sky above, where it swelled and blazed down like the sun. 

"Goku! You created a small sun! You're such a wild man, I never know what you're going to do next!" Karin grinned as much as a cat ever grins. 

"When I fought Vegeta, back when he first came to Earth, he created a small moon so he could change into a giant ape," Goku mused. "I remembered how he did it, and just changed the light to be like sunlight, instead of moonlight." 

Karin held out a forepaw. "Hmmm.. looks like sunlight, feels warm as sunlight--it might work. We'll know in an hour or two. Join me for tea, Goku, and we'll watch the beans ripen." 

*      *      *      *

"It was wise of you to bring your concern to me, O King," Dende, Kami of Earth, said to King Vibishana. The Rakshasa King stood near the rail of Kami's Lookout, looking down with deepseeing sapphire eyes. Dende watched him. 

"Am I wise? It was Prince Vegeta who was right, and I who was wrong about the demon. It is as he said--a threat to all that lives; destruction incarnate." Vibishana the Good Demon wrapped his red velvet cloak about himself, brooding. 

"You are wise enough to admit your mistake, and seek advice," Dende answered, smiling. "I wish that all people had so much wisdom!" The young god turned somber again. "This monster has hidden itself from even my sight--without your help I would have known nothing of it until it rose in power. I will do what needs be done, but--" he sighed. 

"--they will pay a heavy price--or so you fear," King Vibishana observed. 

Dende nodded. "There are limits to my powers, and to what I may do-- and that must be so, or I would be a greater agent of destruction than even this monster of Chaos." 

Ebon lips curved in a hard smile. "So, too, have I limits--but my limits are different from yours, O Indra-Dende, as are my powers." Demon King Vibishana bowed to Dende. "With your leave, I will return to my kingdom now, and prepare to fulfill a promise I made to a prince..." 

"Do what you must, and do it well, O King." 

"I shall indeed." 

*      *      *      *

Far below, in ravaged Satan City, the daughter of the Rakshasa King looked out over the battered city. Sinhika turned her head to look at the man beside her. 

"Sean, I don't think Pomona and Melc are going to show. They might have gotten caught in the quake, or gotten stuck or something." 

Sean swiped his black hair back out of his eyes, and lit another cigarette. "Why don't you just say what you mean--they could have gotten killed dead, or maybe they're just lying somewhere bleeding to death!" He was tired, too tired to put any anger into his voice. 

"Fine! I'll go look for them, and I'll see if I can find any groceries. You, stay put in case they--or anyone else--show up. It's YOUR apartment, not mine--I'd have a hard time explaining what I was doing rooting through your stuff if the cops or the militia show up." 

"I'm too tired to argue any more. Look, just be careful, okay? Don't go and get mugged by looters or anything like that." Sean tried not to think about what a crazy thing Sinhika was doing, going out in the shattered city after dark, but he'd given up trying to argue her out of it. Arguing with her when her mind was made up had proved to be like arguing with a brick wall--he could yell, threaten, scream all evening, and at the end of it Sinhika still did exactly what she wanted to do. He sighed. 

And don't ever mention to her the possibility that a woman might need to be protected by a man from whatever dangers lurked in the city--she'd gone ballistic at the merest hint of the idea! Sean took a long drag on his cigarette. He still couldn't figure out how suggesting that he might be better able to deal with hypothetical "bad guys" in the dark equated to 'being so afraid of an independent woman that he wanted to put her back in purdah and veil', but he wouldn't make that mistake again. 

"I'll be fine, Sean," Sinhika answered through gritted teeth as she headed out the door. 

"Yea, sure." He frowned as the door swung shut behind her, not noticing that Sinhika went upstairs, toward the roof, instead of downstairs to the street. 

His nextdoor neighbor Caleb didn't notice that fine point of fact either; he merely noted that the girl had left--Sean would be all alone in the apartment. He smirked to himself. Time to let the boss know, Caleb thought as he punched a number into his cell phone. 

*      *      *      *

For Prince Vegeta, sitting still and watching the river flow by was the hardest part, as always. He craved action--sudden violence, and the fury of battle--but now was not the time. Vengeance would be his, but only if Vegeta used all of his patience and cunning. His enemy had a weakness; Vegeta merely had to find it. The Saiyan prince remembered well Vibishana's thoughts on the matter, when in his pessimism Vegeta had pronounced the demon unkillable. 

The Rakshasa King had looked at Prince Vegeta with deep-seeing sapphire eyes. "I reject the thing as impossible. Unslayable Ravana was careless, and slain in the end by a human--and it was Brahma himself who granted my brother invulnerability and power. What is this demon? Shall I deem its power greater than the Creator's and the Preserver's? I think not. There will be a weakness or a matter of carelessness, do not doubt that." 

You _were_ careless, demon. Or, rather, you _will be_ careless! I think I understand what you did, and you were sloppy, Cacodemon! You made a mistake--and if you made one mistake, you will make a second mistake sooner or later--and I will have you! 

Vegeta smiled coldly to himself--then grabbed the gunwale abruptly as the boat rocked under his feet. "What the--? Ferryman! I see no rapids--have you gotten careless at the oar?" 

The dark Ferryman looked steadily over his shoulder at the huge wake trailing the ship, the wake of some huge submerged thing closing rapidly on the boat. "I warn---" 

The deck heaved wildly as the small black ship was lifted high into the air on the back of a glistening, black, scaly back that arched suddenly out of the water. Vegeta was catapulted into the air in a high arc that would have dropped him into the seething river, had he not gained control and hovered high above the writhing coils of glistening darkness. He noted that somehow, Modgudh and Kadru managed to hang on to the bucking, dancing craft, and the Ferryman still gripped the steering oar, as unbothered by the wild dance as if his feet were glued to the deck. 

The great coil rolled, and the boat slid off that monstrous back, to splash broadside into the water. Apep rose from the depths of the Stygian Nile, titanic jaws agape. Higher and higher he rose, until the great snake's dull black eyes looked down on Vegeta from a hundred yards above. 

The Night Serpent's jaws gaped wide enough to swallow two of the Ferryman's boat; dull black cat-eyes stared down, always focussed on Prince Vegeta. Rows of backward-slanting teeth gleamed white in its jaws. 

Suddenly, it struck! It plunged down like a runaway locomotive sheathed in coal-black glistening scales, irresistable and unstoppable. 

A sudden burst of speed, and Prince Vegeta dodged the monster's gaping maw--it was slower than he. Barely slower; titanic jaws snapped shut mere feet from Vegeta's toes. 

The Saiyan prince smirked, and plunged down, his crest of black hair nodding in the breeze of his own slipstream. Vegeta slammed into the broad top of the snake's head--and rebounded with a brief gasp of pain. That thing was tougher than rock or steel! It was more than just a large snake--Vegeta's blow would have crushed and pierced the skull of any defenseless mortal animal. 

Apep turned his head to watch Vegeta again, and reared back, preparing to strike again. Great cat-pupils dilated, and contracted hastily as crackling golden energy surrounded Vegeta, and his hair turned to flaming gold once again. 

The Night Serpent hissed in rage and hate, and struck again; again Vegeta dodged. Prince Vegeta looked down at the snake from just above its right eye, and held out his hand. 

"Burning Attack!" A fiery fan of ki spread from Vegeta's hand to envelope the snake's face; just before it struck, Vegeta saw the snake's eye slam shut. The ki blast struck the glistening black scales, and sunk into them without a trace. The scales glistened a bit more brightly, and Apep opened his eye again. 

" _Kuso_!" The dead prince snarled, and snapped off a tight blast at that immense eye staring him in the face. Caught by surprise, Apep did not close his eye in time. 

The blast seared and burnt the supernal snake's eye; Apep's head snapped back and he bellowed in pain, writhing and thrashing the length of the Seventh Hour. Caught by the lashing tail, the black boat was hurled out of the water and beached high on the haunted shore; the mast snapped off and hull planks smashed in. 

Maddened with the pain of his blinded eye, Apep snapped repeatedly at Vegeta, missing every time, but forcing the Saiyan prince to ever retreat, not attack. 

"Enough of this!" Up and up he flew, the great dark serpent pursuing after. At last he turned; the veins stood out from his forehead, and the corona of energy around Vegeta's body crackled and sparked. He put out one hand toward the demonic snake, then braced the other, paralyzed hand against it. 

"HAI-YAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Vegeta screamed as he sent a blazing white column of ki energy slamming down into the snake's gaping maw! Apep recoiled and plunged down, down into the river, smoke trailing from his half-closed jaws. 

Prince Vegeta hovered just above the roiling water, watching for some sign of the Night Serpent. "You can't hide that easily!" he shouted, holding his arms out straight to either side, right palm out, left hand still limp. Below him, the water swirled and drained away, as if pressed down by a tremendous wind. Finally the water parted all the way to the river's muddy bed, full of dead bones, shattered armor and broken swords. The water retreated, an ever-widening encircling wall around Vegeta as his will beat upon it. 

The water retreated--until stopped by an encircling wall of scaly darkness. Apep brooded in the bed of the river, and was not pleased. One eyesocket was empty, burnt white as ash, and flesh hung in burnt strips from the titanic snake's mouth. Black scales glowed with a faint light. The great head swung around, and hissed at Vegeta. 

Even as the snake gathered itself to strike, the dead prince struck. With all his Super-Saiyan fury and strength, Vegeta darted down and smashed the monstrous snake at the base of its skull. 

CRUNCH! The sheer force of the blow numbed Vegeta's arm to the shoulders; spray and mud were thrown up in a blinding sheet from one bank of the Stygian Nile to the other. The concussion of the blow rang from wall to wall of the Seventh Hour, cracking stone that had stood unmarred since before the Pyramids were raised. 

" _CHIKUSHO_! What does it take to kill you?" Vegeta stared, appalled, as the spray settled. Apep reared back, burnt mouth agape; where Vegeta had struck, one scale of countless myriads was cracked across. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XX. BAD MOON RISING


	21. XX. Bad Moon Rising

## XX. BAD MOON RISING

"Impossible!" snarled Vegeta. "That thing's sheer size..." he trailed off, a smirk on his face as he stared at the monstrous black snake. "Size. Oh yes." The Prince of the Saiyajin laughed wickedly as he uncurled his tail and switched it from side to side. 

He rose high into the air, a glowing ball of light forming in his right hand. The great serpent rose below him, mouth barely open. The huge creature seemed slow, but his onslaught was as irresistible as a runaway freight train hurtling down the track. 

The ball of light in Vegeta's hand grew brighter, and the snake squinted, great eyelids half-closed. "Gotten a bit shy about your eyes and tender mouth, have you?" Vegeta mocked. Then he hurled the moon ki high, almost to the roof of the immense cavern. 

It exploded, swelling into a ball of blazing moonlight; Vegeta laughed as he felt himself begin to transform. 

Apep hurtled toward Vegeta-- 

\--and passed him! Immense mouth agape, the Night Serpent hurled himself at the ball of moonlight. Jaws of Stygian night opened impossibly wide, surrounded the light, devoured it. Vegeta's moonlight vanished, winking out like a candle swallowed by a whale. 

Downward the hell-serpent plunged, down into the Stygian Nile, and beyond. Vegeta, his aborted transformation fading quickly away, watched as the great snake shattered the very bed of the river, and plunged into darkness absolute. With a final flick of his tail, the Serpent of Darkness vanished into the abyss; all the waters of the river drained after him. 

"I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!" Prince Vegeta gaped at the hole in the riverbed. "HE ATE MY MOON! _Chikusho_!" The Saiyan prince dropped down to the riverbank beside the Ferryman's beached ship, and reverted to his normal black-haired form. 

The Ferryman was already ashore, inspecting the damage to his ship's hull. He chuckled, a deep rumbling sound. "Snake thinks you are the sun god. Thinks your moon ball--" 

"--is the sun!" Vegeta threw up his hands in disgust. "What an incredibly stupid monster! Now what?" 

"Hmph. Now, I fix my boat." The Ferryman walked along the bank, picking up pieces of driftwood here and there. 

"No, what happens with that snake and that huge hole in the river? You can't sail without water, and I'm not where I need to be!" 

The dark Ferryman dropped the pile of wood beside the boat, climbed back aboard, and emerged with tools. Kadru peered over the side to watch; Modgudh climbed down beside them. 

The Ferryman grunted, "Snake thinks it won--it ate the sun for the first time since creation. Have to patch the hull and unstep the mast before we go on." The dark man grinned, lips drawing back from teeth and tusks. "Snake made a shortcut--broke the barrier of Time's Beginning. Helldarks are down that hole. Rough ride to get there." He began to trim driftwood planks to fit. 

Vegeta looked over at the cataract plunging into the dark abyss. "I don't believe this!" he repeated. 

"I haven't believed most of this nightmare since Papa shoved me into your arms," Princess Kadru said, "but still I am here." She sighed. 

"Woman, you would stand a much better chance of finding a husband to your liking if you would stop the incessant whining!" Vegeta snarled through gritted teeth. 

Modgudh's bare skull looked up at the Naga Princess. "He speaks the truth, surprised though I am to admit it." Beyond her, the Ferryman finished shaving a board down and tested its fit against the hole in the hull. 

Vegeta smirked at Modgudh's comment. "And don't go on about how plain you think you are, or how poor you are without all your baubles, or what terrible hardships you're putting up with--YOU'RE the one who decided to follow me around! You spend so much time whining about what you haven't got or what you aren't that you completely ignore what you ARE!" He folded his arms, sneering. 

Bam! Bam! Bam! The Ferryman nailed the plank into place, and moved on to the next hole. 

Modgudh chuckled hollowly. "Lightning strikes twice in the same place!" 

Kadru glared at Modgudh and Prince Vegeta in turn. "I did not _decide_ to be thrown out of my own house into the arms of the first passing stranger of noble lineage! THAT was Papa's doing! I think I have done the best I could under the circumstances--and what I haven't got is a husband!" She folded her arms and glared fiercely at Vegeta, tail writhing and coiling. "Even you can't argue with that fact!" 

On the ground, the Ferryman picked over the driftwood boards, selected two that suited him, and began to trim them down. 

"That's not a fact, that's your stupid obsession again! You should marry Prince Khara--you're exactly what he likes in a woman!" Vegeta snapped, disgusted. 

"Prince Khara? Khara of Lanhka, the son of the Rakshasa King?" Princess Kadru asked, wondering. 

"I don't know of any other!" 

"Would he really want a wife like me?" Kadru looked hopeful. 

Vegeta stared at her. She was taking his casual insult seriously! And the very conservative Prince Khara was unmarried... 

"Unless he hates snakes, you'd be perfect for him!" Vegeta smirked. 

The Ferryman finished hammering the last boards into place, and climbed back up on the canted deck. He began to unstep the remnant of the mast. 

Princess Kadru made her decision. "You will introduce me to him," she announced. 

Prince Vegeta stared at her contemptuously. "Spare me your delusions!" 

Behind Kadru, the Ferryman finished unstepping the mast, and threw the shattered pole down to the beach. He jumped down beside it. 

Undeterred, Kadru continued, "You are a prince and my father gave me into your care; it would be appropriate for you to arrange the marriage. First we will have to visit my mother, though." 

"Enough, snake-woman! The universe may fall into quaking ruin long before any of that matters!" Vegeta snarled in exasperation. 

"This will do for rollers;" the Ferryman announced to no one in particular, "I need a new mast." He stared at Vegeta. "You in a hurry?" 

"I would like to get moving before the heat-death of the universe sets in!" Vegeta snarled, still exasperated. 

"You're fast; fly along the shore, look for a good mast pole," the Ferryman grunted. "I'll move the ship. Get done sooner that way." He took out a bronze-toothed saw, and, with a shimmer of power, started cutting the old mast into sections, paying no further attention to Vegeta. 

"Hmmph! Well, if it gets this thing moving..." 

*      *      *      *

"You summoned me, father?" Prince Khara bowed before his father, the King of the Rakshasas. 

King Vibishana sat in his study, at an ornately inlaid teak desk. Two pieces of paper lay before him; one, an ancient yellowed scroll; the other, a crisp, newly printed letter on plain white paper. He picked up the latter and handed to Khara. 

"Yes, I did. Explain this, please." Vibishana's face was expressionless. 

Prince Khara glanced at the paper; it was a printed copy of his e-mail notice to Sinhika. "Sir, you expressed your displeasure at my sister's abrupt departure, and I took it on myself to get her to return. I calculated that if gentle persuasion did not suffice, financial pressure might." 

Vibishana frowned. "I am disappointed that Sinhika left without taking counsel with me, and I am concerned for her.. _as a father_. If I were concerned _as King_ , I need only command her to return, and she would obey. I know that, she knows that, and YOU know that. YOU have no business commanding your sister in anything, or cutting her off from the treasury without my command!" 

"But--" Khara stepped back, flustered at his father's anger. 

"Fate has placed Sinhika exactly where the King of Lankha needs her; you will not interfere. Indeed, you will restore her access to the treasury this very night, and then you will go to Satan City and assist your sister in any way she sees fit." Cold sapphire eyes glared into gentle emerald eyes, until the latter dropped away to stare at the floor. 

"And," the Rakshasa King added in a gentler voice, "you will give Sinhika this." Vibishana picked up the aged scroll and handed it to his son. "She will know what to do with it when the time is right." 

Prince Khara's eyes widened; he thought he recognized it, from his long hours of study with Ghost Prince Vegeta amid the ancient lore of Lankha. "Is that--?" 

"Yes, it is the Mantra of Compassion, that I gave to Hanuman in the long ago, to restore the slain armies of Rama to life." The ebon king smiled gently. "It will soon be time for it to be used again, by another of compassionate heart." 

"Sinhika?" Prince Khara raised one eyebrow in skepticism. 

"Not hardly--but she will know who must use it." 

"It shall be done, my king," Prince Khara bowed low, and backed out of his father's presence at the sign of dismissal. 

After his departure, the ebony-skinned king walked to the window and looked out over the ocean once more. 

So... It is done. Khara is faithful, if unimaginative; he will find her and do his part. This new Indra, Dende.. in spite of his youth, he is like the previous one, wise and restrained, not arrogant and lustful like the Indras of my youth. He will do well--my devious nephew could never have blinded this one with the illusions of the world! 

It is time for me to do my part. King Vibishana turned from the tall window, and headed for a certain stair. 

It is time to command Indrajit. 

*      *      *      *

The daughter of Vibishana crouched on the sloped roof of a temple. "Again," she growled silently to herself, "they're doing it again! _Aghammanul anaarya_! Butchers!" She pried open a wooden louver and slipped inside. "With all the chaos from the earthquake, who is to stop them? Who will even notice, among all the dead?" 

Sinhika looked down from her perch on a rafter; the thugs had already done their work. An old man sprawled on the floor, beaten bloody and unconscious, as did two young acolytes. A third was held by two grinning thugs in T-shirts and jeans, while yet another punched him repeatedly in the stomach. 

The Rakshasa princess squinted; she'd seen that last thug before. He was a burly man wearing a tight black shirt that showed off his muscles and black jeans--yes! He was the third man who'd escaped her at the very first temple! Her eyes narrowed; he would not escape this time! 

In what illusion would she walk? Not a temple guardian this time, she decided. Something.. more traditional. Sinhika grinned, baring fangs and flexed her claws--and fell upon the burly man in black. 

Oshimu drew his fist back for one more blow on the helpless acolyte--it never fell. Something like a monstrous orangutang fell out of the rafters onto his back, knocking him to the floor. The breath was smashed out of him, and he barely had time to realize his plight before two hairy hands grabbed Oshimu's head on each side and twisted-- 

CRACK! The two other thugs looked on in stunned horror as the ape-demon stood over Oshimu's corpse and grinned at them, baring sharp teeth. Great claws bent backwards from the hairy beast's palms; it turned slowly-- 

WHOMMPHH! A shadow lashed out, catching the ape-demon hard in the side, flinging it across the room. The shadow grew and solidified, finally standing some nine massively muscled feet tall with smouldering red eyes. The ape-demon got its feet as Enforcer strode across the room, taloned arm upraised to strike. 

Even as Enforcer's talons slashed down, the ape-demon vanished! Enforcer's head snapped around, looked up, and behind. No sign of his enemy.. the demon growled, scarlet eyes narrowing. 

Suddenly the ape-demon reappeared, great claws raking across Enforcer's back--and skittering off the shadow demon's scaly hide. Quick as thought, the great demon lashed out with his talons, slicing into the ape-demon-- 

\--and meeting no resistance. Illusion! Enforcer snarled in frustration as the ape-demon vanished. Nostrils flared; the shadow demon could smell the other creature's presence, but that wasn't enough to pin it down, to allow Enforcer to attack. Did it have to materialize to attack? 

No! Something invisible crashed into the chaos demon's chest, and rebounded. Unseen claws slashed his throat, leaving no mark. Enforcer grinnned, revealing far too many razor-sharp teeth for any natural creature. 

"Children of darkness, come your master's call!" Enforcer growled. "Come forth, ancient shades!" 

Shadows stretched out across the floor, grew, and pooled together. The two remaining thugs huddled together in a rapidly disappearing spot of light. The barely conscious acolyte screamed in stark terror as the darkness closed over his head-- 

Sinhika snarled soundlessly as she hovered high above, cloaked in illusion, near the rafters. She glared at the living darkness filling the ground floor; she heard two screams as it enveloped the thugs, followed by fading moans and one last despairing cry: 

"Help me, Lord Keikan-Ma! It is so cold! So cold..." 

Silence, and only the red-eyed shadow demon looking up and about, with darkness lapping about his thighs. Enforcer laughed softly, and raised his taloned hands. 

A ball of dark violet, red and black lightnings roiled in each hand. I don't like the look of this, Sinhika thought, as the great shadow-demon flung both balls of dark energy into the air-- 

CRACK--BOOM! BOOM! Both spheres exploded in blasts of dark lightning, shattering the temple in cascades of violet, red and black electrical fire. One bolt caught Sinhika, blasting her backwards through the wall, just as the wall collapsed in flaming fragments. Her head struck a chunk of support beam, and Enforcer's mocking laughter rang in her ears as everything went black... 

*      *      *      *

Pomona's head ached, she was incredibly thirsty, and her body felt like one huge bruise. That was the first thing she noticed. The second was that she was tied up and lying on her side someplace incredibly dusty. She sneezed. 

"Po?" Melchior's voice called softly from behind her. About the same time, Pomona realized there was something warm pressed up against her back. 

"Melc, that you?" As soon as she said it, Pomona realized the idiocy of the question. 

Melchior chuckled. "If you mean, am I the guy trussed up like a hog laying against you, yes, that's me." 

Pomona opened her eyes. It didn't help much; wherever they were, it was dark. "Where are we?" 

"Locked in a shed somewhere," answered Melchior. "Can't tell much else." 

"I don't like this," Pomona said. "What are they going to do to us?" 

"Considering Voron's usual interests.. I have a guess--and I don't really want to think about it. I think he's really gone over the edge this time." Melchior was more melancholy than usual. 

Both of them fell silent at the sound of someone turning a key in a lock; a door opened, and a small electric lamp lit up the interior of the shed that was their prison. Voron walked over to the two prisoners, and looked them over, smirking. 

"No too uncomfortable, are you?" Behind him, two other men carrying a burden entered the shed; as they put their burden down, Pomona noticed that it was a woman, tied up and unconscious. 

Pomona just glared at the long-haired young man in the black leather coat. Behind her, Melchior muttered, "We'd both be a lot more comfortable if you dropped dead on the spot, but what the hell--I don't usually get what I want." 

Voron laughed maliciously. The two men left and returned, this time carrying a small boy, whom they set down beside the woman. 

"Don't worry, we won't harm a hair on your heads--not until the sacrifice." Voron grinned wickedly. "I need you at your very best of health and power." 

"Damn. I was right; you _have_ gone over the edge!" Melchior cursed. 

"Is that what you call it? I say that I have broken through the wall of human limitations--limits imposed by small, narrow minds full of petty concerns. I told you before--I have _real_ power now! I will have yet more, when your bodies and souls are traded for Lord Dairi-Mao's demons--demons under _my_ command!" Voron smirked, and raised the lamp high. Pomona noticed the unconscious woman's blue hair, and the boy's violet hair. 

"Don't worry, you'll die quickly enough. These, on the other hand," Voron nudged the other captives with his foot, "my Lord Dairi-Mao has plans for. They will long for death, they will beg for it for hours and hours before we permit it to take them--and then we will feed their souls to Chaos. And just think," Voron giggled, "the demons we summon using your lives will make it all possible." 

*      *      *      *

<Gohan!> Piccolo's mindvoice echoed in the young Saiyan's head. 

<Piccolo?>

<Someone has kidnapped Bulma and Trunks! Watch your little brother; they'll be after him next.>

Gohan's eyes widened. <What?? Can you find them? We need to tell Dad!>

<I'm looking for them. You worry about your little brother, Gohan. The demon is after him, and Raditz--but he thinks Raditz is dead. So did I.> Gohan could hear the ironic amusement in Piccolo's thought. 

<The demon was almost right, Piccolo. If Dad doesn't get back with senzu soon...> The worry in Gohan's thought was papable. 

<I don't like Raditz, but I like the demon that was killing him even less. If Raditz alive hinders this demon, I'll put up with that wretched Saiyan for now.>

<He's not that bad.. not anymore.> Gohan answered. 

<I haven't killed him yet, have I?> A minute taste of Piccolo Dai-mao flavored the Namek's thoughts, then he continued in a less sinister flavor. <I'll put up with him, for you and for Son Goku>. 

<Thank you, Piccolo-Sensei!>

<No, thank YOU, Gohan.>

*      *      *      *

"Gohan! Help me here!" Chi-chi called from the bedside. "He's going into convulsions again!" 

Gohan turned his attention back to his mother and Raditz. The long-maned Saiyan was regaining consciousness--or some delirious state that wasn't merciful unconsciousness. His face was drawn with pain, and he tried to claw at the poisoned wounds on his chest and tear away the bandages. It was all Gohan and Chi-chi could do to hold Raditz down and restrain him--fortunately he was so terribly weak that Chi-chi _could_ hold him down with her full strength. 

Raditz arched his back, and the veins stood out on the backs of his hands and on his forehead as he writhed in pain, then collapsed again, too weak to fight anymore. Sweat drenched him; blood trickled from his nose and the corner of his mouth. His breath came in great ragged gasps, as if he'd been fighting long and hard. 

Through this and all the other intervals of merciless consciousness, the Saiyan warrior had remained silent, teeth clenched together, refusing to cry out in his agony. Now he laid back, a slightly puzzled look on his face. "Kinoko?" 

Raditz began to speak quietly but rapidly in a language Chi-chi did not recognize. She looked at Gohan questioningly. 

"I think it's Saiya-go; I heard Vegeta say words like that once or twice." Gohan said hesitantly. He recognized a few names: Kakarott, Bardock, Vegeta, Bulma, Goten, his own name, Trunks. Gohan looked at his mother, confused. 

Chi-chi shook her head. "He's delirious." And dying, her somber face showed. "Gohan, take Goten out. He doesn't need to see this. Neither do you." 

Goten, who was still sitting at the foot of the bed, staring at the blank wall behind the bed, suddenly spoke up. "N'Uncle Raditz talks to the lady with long hair like him. Am NOT leaving!" he objected. 

*      *      *      *

Oh gods, the pain! Even Hell didn't hurt like this--that was all pain of the soul, emptiness and loss and sorrow and eternal regret--not this mortal agony. It feels like I'm on fire inside, and disintegrating one cell at a time. Why won't it stop? It just goes on and on... 

*Your body is fighting to survive, Raditz* 

"Kinoko?" Mother? How.. oh. I'm dying again. That's why I can see you, isn't it? 

*Yes* Cool fingers stroked his face, taking away the pain. *Do not worry; you will be fine* 

Will I live? A dim echo of the fever and pain still raged through his body, but her touch cooled him, calmed him; he could think coherently again. 

*I do not know, my son* 

How can I be fine if I die.. oh. Oh! Surprise blocked out the remaining pain for a short time, and he smiled. Something else to blame on Kakarott--or perhaps Goten and Bulma, too. His smile faded abruptly as Raditz remembered other concerns. 

But I can't die, not now! The demon is after Bulma and Trunks, and I promised Prince Vegeta I'd protect them! And Goten.. I can't protect any of them if I'm dead! 

*I know. It is not an easy path you walk, my son, but you are a Saiyan warrior! Have we ever taken the easy path?* 

Raditz smiled again, much to the amazement of a bewildered Chi-chi and Gohan. Well, every time we did, it turned out to be a mistake! Frieza, the 'Planet Trade'.. No, the easy path is not for us--but there _is_ a path for us, a hard path, but still our path! Heh. Somehow it makes sense that we have to go to Hell to get to Heaven. 

Ghostly feminine laughter. *Even your blessed brother Goku managed to fall into Hell before getting to Heaven!* 

Goku! But.. you yourself named my little brother, named him Kakarott! That is his real name, his Saiyan name! Mother, how could you abandon it? 

*I have met the one who named him Son Goku, dear Raditz, and he is a good man and it is a good name. In his heart and soul, your little brother knows himself as Goku, and I honor his choice. Search your heart, Raditz, and you will understand* 

Raditz remembered what he'd told his little brother, when he'd explained why he still called him 'Kakarott'. 

_"Kakarott is the name of the little brother I loved, the name mother and father gave you, on our home world. Our parents, who loved both of us, who died with our world," Raditz had said. "Goku is the name of a Saiyan who did not know me, who renounced his family and race, and who killed me. I like Kakarott better."_

Only.. it wasn't Kakarott who gave me a second chance, it wasn't Kakarott who forgave me and embraced me as a brother, it wasn't Kakarott who accepted me into his house and thanked me for saving his sons. It was Goku. 

*      *      *      *

"Mom! What's wrong? He's so pale.." Gohan looked anxiously at his mother. 

Chi-chi felt Raditz's forehead, and frowned, moving to check the pulse at his neck. "Fever's gone.. he's cold, and I can barely feel his pulse.." Chi-chi met Gohan's eyes, and shook her head again. "He's in shock. Not long now," she said sadly. 

*      *      *      *

A delicious coolness spread through Raditz. It's stopped hurting. 

*Yes. Your body has given up the fight* 

I'm dead? 

No regrets, this time, for what he'd done. Only a few regrets for chances missed... a laughing brown-haired girl he'd like to have known better, a blue-haired princess who'd stolen his heart, a nephew and a young prince he'd wanted to teach, a brother he'd need a lifetime to know... 

*Not quite yet* 

Oh. I hope little brother gets back in time; I'd like to say goodbye to him. 

Raditz could see his mother Kinoko very clearly now; she was even more beautiful than he remembered from his youth. He'd gotten his long hair, height, and delicate features from her. Her hair almost swept the floor, and she was only a few inches shorter than Raditz. Her face had a delicate, almost elfin beauty to it--very unusual among Saiyajin. Here and now, she wore a long white satiny dress with her brown furry tail wrapped around it at the waist, not the Saiyan battle armor he remembered seeing her in last. If only father could see her like this! 

Until his reunion in Hell with his father, Raditz had not understood the real reason Bardock had sent him away, out of his life--his too-close resemblance to his mother, and Bardock's unending pain at Kinoko's death. She had been killed just after Kakarott's birth, a few short months before Bardock's last, accursed mission to Kunassasei. 

I don't think father knew he was saving my life when he sent me away--pulled strings and got me assigned to that scouting mission out in the backass of nowhere, even though I was supposed to have been assigned a permanent post in the Royal Guard, on Vegetasai. He just wanted me offworld and away from any place he might see me for a long, long time. 

I didn't exactly thank him for it, either. At first, I was just angry and disappointed--what had I done wrong? Had I somehow managed to disqualify myself from the Guards? I was even more angry when I found out my father had been responsible--what right did he have to ruin my career before it really got started? How had I offended him? There was no reason that I could see. 

After the destruction of Vegetasai, I cursed him for my survival. The last thing I wanted to be was the weakest of Frieza's three surviving Saiyan slaves! Then, part of me wished I'd died on Vegetasai, even the stupid, useless death of being destroyed by some wandering bit of space debris. Clever of Frieza to tell us that--it shamed us that the rest of our race had died such un-Saiyan deaths, and made us all the more willing to fight for him. How long did Vegeta know the truth, before Nappa stumbled on it and enlightened me? 

Not that it matters now. They're all dead--Vegeta, Nappa, Frieza, father.. and soon me, again. But.. I was unjust to father, not knowing the reasons for what he did, not knowing the truth. 

Mother.. we need to save father. 

A light chuckle. *Bardock will be easy. You were the stubborn one, my son* A light, cool kiss on Raditz's forehead. *Teach him what you have learned, and he will be fine* 

Someone else, far away was talking to him, asking him to do something. Someone.. his brother. But it was so much work, and Kinoko was rising to leave... 

Mother? Don't go! Raditz started to get up, to follow her-- 

"NUNK RATS! DON'T GO!" A child's wail of despair cut through the cocoon of shock his dying body had wrapped around his mind. "PLEASE! LISTEN TO DADDY!" 

Sorry, Goten, I'm just so tired. I can't fight anymore.. Goodbye, little brother. I'll see you again someday. 

"Raditz.. please! Just chew on this, and you can go back to sleep! I promise! For me, please?" Little brother was pleading-- _crying_?? This must be important to him. 

Oh, all right, just for you. And stop carrying on like that--you're a Saiyan! Show some pride! 

Raditz bit down with his last effort-- 

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! His eyes snapped wide open as warmth and strength flooded into him. He could feel the poison vanish from his blood, and all the terrible wounds closing, healing. Raditz breathed again, taking in fresh air and life. His little brother stood beside the bed, looking down at him, joy on his face. He quickly wiped a tear away, but Raditz saw it. 

Raditz slowly smiled at his brother. "I guess I don't need to say goodbye after all.. Goku." 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XXI. INTO DARKNESS


	22. XXI. Into Darkness

## XXI. INTO DARKNESS

Nezumi stared at the ruins of her apartment building. Slabs of broken concrete and bent iron poked this way and that, looming out of the gloom like some alien badlands that had materialized where her home should be. Nezumi played the flashlight this way and that, looking for signs of.. she didn't know what. 

No sounds or signs of anyone remaining. It had taken her hours to work her way through the shattered city to her home, and it was gone. There was nothing and no one for her here. Nezumi sighed. 

"What are you going to do now, young lady?" Nezumi giggled at the sound of her own stern voice. "I'm starting to sound like Mom! Well, I can either sleep in the street--ick!--see if Lina's place is still intact, or go back to Capsule Corp HQ; I _know_ part of the compound is still standing." She leaned the flashlight against her chin. 

"Hmmm.. I know the safe route back to Capsule Corp now; wouldn't take me nearly as long to get back--or I could slog my way through this disaster for several more hours on the off chance that Lina and her apartment survived. Gods, I hope Lina is all right-- but I'm exhausted!" 

She sighed again. "I hate to admit it, but Raditz was right and I was wrong--better to do this the safe way, no matter how I feel about it. Back to Capsule Corp it is." 

With that, Nezumi flicked her flashlight back on, and guided herself back through the ruined city, the light in her off hand, and a large-caliber revolver in her right hand. 

*      *      *      *

In his curiously intact ancient apartment building, Sean considered the light. Not good enough; he lit another candle, another black one. Four black candles, three red ones, and one purple; he'd forgotten what the purple one was for--probably a love spell Po had wanted to try out. Sean thought candlelight itself was romantic enough. 

In any case, his taste for candlelit rendezvous had left him with a large supply of slow-burning candles on a night when there was no power nor lights to be had in the city. Sean smiled to himself; gothic romance turned out to be practical! At least he had enough light to sketch by. 

Between worry about Sinhika and the latest image in his head, he couldn't sleep. He might as well get some sketching done. Candlelight wouldn't do for the painting he had in mind; he'd have to wait for morning light, but he could at least sketch out a preliminary drawing. 

A few sweeping lines to frame out the scene, rough circles for the body, rocks, bushes, a few dots to indicate the flowers; then he started to delineate the face and hair and form a bit more clearly. Engrossed in his drawing, Sean did not hear the slow turning of his doorknob, nor the scratching as someone slipped a jimmy behind the bolt... 

*      *      *      *

Sinhika awoke with a gasp as something utterly cold wrapped itself around her. Everything was dark and silent and cold, the cold emptiness of oblivion, something seemed to whisper to her. Fear rose in her, fear of that oblivion, fear of non-being, of eternal darkness and nothingness; terror took hold of her and her heart hammered frantically in her breast until it seemed as if her chest would explode. She could not breathe, she was so terrified. 

NO! I am a Princess of Lankha, and the daugher of the immortal Rakshasa King! I am not a rabbit, to cower in fear of the unknown; I am not a peasant, to cower in fear of death! I am a warrior and the daughter of heroes! Anger coursed through her, and shame at her own fear; bit by bit, she fought the panic and terror down. 

By rakshasa instinct, she wrapped herself in the illusion of invisiblity, and flew up through the seemingly endless darkness. A bright light flashed over her, nearly blinded her; the darkness was very shallow after all. She was still in the temple, or what was left of it. Below her, a pool of living darkness washed the floor, slowly receding; in the center of the ruins stood the great shadow demon Keikan-Ma, his head turning this way and that as he inspected the ruins in the wake of the receding darkness. 

The cold, the silence, the unnatural fear all left her the instant Sinhika rose above the darkness. She stared at it, scraps of forgotten lore lurking at the edges of memory, teasing her. Sinhika had heard of this darkness before, in some ancient tale.. if only she could remember the details! 

The darkness receded completely, leaving only the normal shadows and night's gloom on the smouldering ruins of the temple. In its wake, six corpses lay strewn about the floor. Six cold, frost-covered corpses whose faces were contorted in expressions of ultimate terror. Above them stood Keikan-Ma, eyes intently searching the bodies and fallen rubble. After long moments, the demon growled, and plunged through the broken wall into the night. 

Silent as an owl, Sinhika followed invisibly. The great shadow demon disappeared into the shadows, became invisible to any eyes but a rakshasa's. Princess Sinhika had inherited her father's eyes. 

*      *      *      *

Raditz clenched his fist and looked at it, smirking. He glanced at Goku. "I am stronger, a lot stronger. Those magic beans of yours are impressive. Healed me faster and better than a regen tank. Heh." The long-haired Saiyan grinned wolfishly. "I was about even with that damn demon, until he regenerated himself; next time.. will be the last time!"

"Raditz--" 

"Goku! Raditz! Gohan! Goten! Everybody, midnight supper is ready!" Chi-chi called from the kitchen. 

Goku's eyes widened. "I'm starving! After bringing you home, I went to Karin's Tower to get the senzu, and I missed dinner completely! I can't believe Chi-chi didn't yell at me about it! I can't believe I forgot to eat!" Goku rushed down the hall. Gohan waited for his little brother. 

Raditz got up to follow, when Goten grabbed his arm. "N'Uncle Raditz, was that lady my grandma?" 

Raditz looked startled for a moment, then his lips quirked up in a hint of a smile. "Yes, she was. Kinoko is your other grandmother--your father's mother." Gohan looked on, very startled. 

Goten nodded. "Grandpa N'Ox-King is Mama's father." He looked at his uncle, wide-eyed and solemn. "Who is Daddy's father?" 

Raditz hesitated. "My father, your grandfather, was named Bardock. He looked just like your father, only more tanned, and he had a scar here," Raditz drew his forefinger down his left cheek. "He.. died a long time ago." 

"Oh. Uncle Raditz, I don't understand Grandma Kinoko. How can you be all right if you die?" Goten looked puzzled and worried; Gohan's jaw dropped. 

Raditz didn't answer for a long moment. "I don't really know how to explain that. Tell you what, kid.. I'll explain it when I figure out how. Fair enough?" 

"Okay. Fair. Hungry; let's eat!" Goten ran down the hall. 

Gohan looked at Raditz and gulped. "I keep forgetting my brother can see ghosts--that's what Goten was talking about, wasn't he?" 

Raditz smiled wryly. "Yeah. An ancestral ghost dropped by for a chat while I was busy nearly becoming a ghost myself. Again. Bad habit, that. Let's go eat." Raditz ducked his head to miss the doorjamb as he followed Gohan down the hall. 

And Dad was with me when I fought Cell, Gohan thought. I wonder how often it happens that way.. 

Goku had already finished his first, second and third helping of dinner and was well into his fourth. Goten was just getting started as Raditz entered the kitchen. Chi-chi sighed, grabbed the empty rice bowl and filled it from the pot on the stove; she knew that Gohan and Raditz each ate almost as much as Goku. 

"Dad, can you find Bulma and Trunks?" Gohan asked as he sat down. 

"What do you mean, 'find Bulma and Trunks'?" Raditz asked slowly. He halted in the kitchen entry, a suspicious, almost angry look on his face. He was still barefoot, wearing nothing more than borrowed blue pants; his chest still partially wrapped in bandages. 

"I didn't have a chance to tell Dad yet, you were dying when he got back with the senzu--Piccolo told me. Someone's kidnapped Bulma and Trunks!" 

Goku looked up sharply, noting the horror on his brother's face. "Raditz--" 

CRASH! A hole gaped where the back door used to be; Raditz was gone. 

"Good thing that door opens in the direction of Satan City," Goku laughed nervously as Chi-chi glared at the shattered door. "I'd hate to see what he would have done to the wall.." He got up from the table, raising two fingers to his forehead... 

Chi-chi transferred her glare to Goku. "And just where do you think you're going?" The chill in her voice could have frozen a lava flow on the spot. 

"Chi-chi, I have to go after my brother, and help find Bulma and Trunks! Gohan and I---" 

"ABSOLUTELY NOT! I forbid it!" Chi-chi yelled. "You are not taking Gohan anywhere, it's the middle of the night and way past his bedtime! And you are not just flying out of here and leaving the door wide-open and us completely unprotected from those demons! A demon tried to kidnap little Goten and me once, or have you forgotten that already??" 

"But Chi-chi, Raditz--" 

"Raditz is a grown man and can take care of himself for a few minutes! You aren't going anywhere until there's a door in front of that hole, and Gohan is going TO BED!" Chi-chi switched her glare to Gohan. "As soon as you and Goten are done eating, get ready for bed, young man!" 

"Okay, you're right! Gohan should stay home--he can protect you and Goten. Can I just nail some boards over the hole until morning? I can't really do a good job of hanging a door in the dark, anyway." Goku pleaded with Chi-chi. 

"All right. Fine. But first thing in the morning, you will be HERE, and fixing that door--if you want to eat. I refuse to cook breakfast looking at a boarded-up eyesore. Better yet, get Raditz to fix it--he broke it!" Chi-chi folded her arms and frowned at her husband. 

A short time later, Goku finished boarding up the hole in the wall, and Chi-chi put the boys to bed. Chi-chi escorted Goku to the front door, kerosene lamp held high. "Goku..." 

"Don't worry, Chi-chi--I can handle whatever has Bulma and Trunks; I'll be back for breakfast!" Goku said cheerily. He put two fingers to his forehead, and vanished in a flicker of light. 

"I hope so," Chi-chi said wistfully. "I really hope so." She tumbled into bed, alone; in spite of her loneliness, she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion within minutes. Everyone in the house slept the sleep of the just. 

*      *      *      *

The lights of Capsule Corp's gate lit the end of the street; Nezumi sighed with relief. Not only had she made it back without being attacked or falling into a hole, someone--probably Dr. Briefs--had gotten the Capsule Corp generators on-line. There was something incredibly reassuring about the warm glow of electric lights in the midst of the blacked-out, broken city. 

She stumbled up to the main gate, exhausted, and stared blankly at the closed gate for a moment. Right, whoever's got security detail would hardly leave it standing wide open on a night like this, would they? She fumbled in her wallet for a keycard, and swiped it through the electronic lock. The light stayed red. 

Huh? It should have turned green and unlocked. She swiped the card again, and swore under her breath as it stayed red. Okay, she'd do this the hard way; she walked around to the small personnel gate and unlocked the padlock with her key. 

"Hold it right there!" The sound of a shotgun slide being pumped convinced Nezumi to obey instantly. 

"Hey! What's going on? I work here!" Nezumi complained, holding very still while someone shined a flashlight in her eyes. 

"Nezumi! It's really you!" exclaimed a familiar voice, and the light was quickly turned away. "You're all right! Come on in!" 

Nezumi blinked. "Lina! Is that you? You're okay!" Nezumi ran up and hugged her friend, shotgun and all. "I thought you were at home, and caught in the earthquake!" 

Lina set down the shotgun and hugged her back. "I was on my way home, but the street fell in in front of me, so I came back to work, and they really needed one of us from Security to take charge with the disaster and all, so.." The dark-haired woman shrugged. 

"That bum Kidoru still hasn't shown up?" Nezumi frowned. 

"Nor is he likely to," Lina said grimly. "There's been some weird things happening around here--someone's been using Kidoru's card to disable the alarms and security computer, so I turned off the main gate's card reader--I don't know what else has been compromised and I don't have enough people to search the grounds. Sorry for the inconvenience," she shrugged. 

"I understand; it's been an inconvenient night all around." Nezumi sighed. 

"That's one way to put it! Believe me, I am glad to see you! Did you bring your gun?" Lina picked the shotgun back up. 

"Of course--do you think I'd have walked through this city without it?" 

"You WALKED from your apartment?? In this--my god!" 

"Well, the buses weren't running..." Nezumi smiled weakly. 

Thip! Someone dropped out of the sky to land in behind Nezumi and Lina; both whirled. Lina leveled her shotgun, and Nezumi's gun was out and pointed at the-- at Raditz! It was Raditz! 

Nezumi was the first to lower her gun. "What the hell happened to you?" she asked, staring at his bandage-taped chest and bare feet. Lina stared; at a glare from Raditz, she started and pointed the shotgun away from him. 

"Where's Bulma and Trunks?" the long-haired warrior asked abruptly, ignoring Nezumi's question. 

"You don't know? I just got back here--what's going on?" Nezumi asked, suddenly worried. 

"Last I heard, they were in their house--how come you weren't here?" Lina asked, also looking worried. "I thought you were still here, with them." 

"So did I," Nezumi added, more worried. 

Raditz frowned, and surged into the air in a high arc that brought him down in front of Bulma's small house. Nezumi turned to Lina and shouted, "You keep watching the gate!" and ran across the compound toward him. 

Wait! A power nearby, suppressed... there! Hovering high above the compound! Raditz snarled to himself, and clenched his fists. The veins stood out on the backs of his hands, and power seethed around him. Raditz darted into the air, his power a corona of white fire around him. 

Tall, broad-shoulders, swirling cape--he knew that figure! Raditz halted abruptly in front of him with a flash of shed energy. Piccolo regarded with cold, haughty eyes. The corner of his mouth slowly curved up in a smirk. 

"Oh. It's you." Raditz sneered, and dropped back down to the house. The door was open--that was not right, not right at all. He plunged into the dark house, ready for a fight. 

No one there. "Where are they?" Raditz growled to himself, still crouched in fighting stance. Still nothing appeared, either to attack him or give him answers. He slowly straightened up, and ran through the darkened house, lit only by his own power. He found only what Piccolo had found before him. 

Bulma and Trunks were gone. Deputy had made good his threats. Raditz began to tremble with rage. A noise behind him-- 

Raditz whirled, one hand raised to strike, energy already glowing in the palm of his hand. Nezumi threw up both arms, one still holding her drawn gun, shielding her face from the fierce light. 

"Stop! It's only me--Nezumi!" she squeaked. 

"Fool woman!" Raditz growled as he lowered his arm, energy fading away. "I nearly killed you. What are you doing here?" 

Nezumi holstered her gun. "Doing my job as Acting Deputy Chief of Security for Capsule Corp. Where's Bulma and Trunks?" Nezumi's voice was still shaky. 

"Missing." Raditz regarded her thoughtfully, eyes narrowing. "Are you trained for this?" 

"Huh? What kind of question is that? If you mean, am I trained to look for missing people, yes! I used to be a cop, you know. If you mean, am I trained to get into the kind of fight you obviously are, hell no! I don't play quite that rough." 

Raditz picked up a small object from the floor and handed it to her. "Someone got in here unnoticed, and used tranquilizer darts to make sure of Trunks, possibly Bulma as well. They're both gone." 

Nezumi looked at the small object Raditz had given her. "Yep, it's a tranq dart. It's pretty large, looks like the size they use for bringing down big game at zoos and game parks." Her brows furrowed with concern. "Unless it was nearly empty, that's way too high a dose for a human being!" 

"Fortunately, Trunks isn't human." At Nezumi's startled look Raditz added, "He's half-Saiyan." Raditz frowned. "I can't sense their ki, but they'd be too weak to for me to sense if they were tranquilized. I'm not sure I could sense Bulma no matter what her condition. If she's outside this compound, only Vegeta--or maybe my brother--could sense her; her ki is too weak." 

"Why do I feel like I'm missing about ten chapters out of the middle of the story?" She shook her head. "Fine, you work on that end of it--I don't follow this 'ki' stuff anyway," Nezumi said. She turned on the lights, saying "Let me take a look around..." 

"Whoever did it left some nice footprints in the hall and in Bulma's room." Nezumi noted a few minutes later, her nose close to the floor. After a brief examination, she straightened up. "Two things: one, I need to get my kit from the security building, and two, Raditz, you still haven't told me what happened and why you weren't here." 

"That's not important," growled Raditz, looking uncomfortable and angry. 

Nezumi straightened up, put her hands on her hips and glared at Raditz. "The hell it isn't! You're Bulma's bodyguard, you vanish, she vanishes, you turn up looking like a building fell on you--and I'm Deputy Chief of Security in case you've forgotten! It's my JOB to know!" 

Raditz flushed. "Bulma.. dismissed me for the night. A demon attacked me on the way to my brother's house--a demon that threatened Bulma, Trunks and my nephew. Now Bulma and Trunks have been kidnapped." 

"What do you mean, 'a demon threatened Bulma and Trunks'? Whoever made these footprints wore size ten human shoes," Nezumi said skeptically. 

"I meant exactly what I said," Raditz growled. "You don't need to know the details--they were.. unpleasant." He looked away. "The demon has human followers," Raditz added unexpectedly. "I've run into them before, when they tried to kidnap my nephew." 

"Oh, great! So there's some cult of demon-worshipping weirdos, and their pet demon, after the Boss? Is that what you're telling me?" Nezumi expostulated. 

"Yes, exactly." Raditz confirmed. He stared at Nezumi, not quite sure what to make of her. She reminded him of someone... 

"Okay, then. For goodness sake's get dressed, and drop me off at the security building on your way. I'll meet you back here in a few minutes." 

"That will do." He followed her outside. "Hang on!" Raditz grabbed Nezumi around the waist and half-jumped, half-flew to the security building in a single high bound. He set her down, and paused for a moment. 

"Since when are you 'Deputy Chief of Security'?" he asked. 

" _Acting_ Deputy Chief of Security," Nezumi corrected. "Hiregumi-San is dead, you were missing, Kidoru is still missing, and Lina got back first, so she's Acting Chief of Security. I got here second, that makes me Acting Deputy Chief. Clear?" 

Raditz rose into the air, and smirked, looking down at Nezumi, arms folded. "Indeed." 

*      *      *      *

King Vibishana stood by a clear stream that flowed over a bed of white marble pebble, through a forest of white-leaved trees with pale ivory bark. His red velvet cloak stood out like a bloodstain in that pale wood; beside him stood another colorful form in silver armor, listening attentively. 

"Uncle, in anger you once told me, 'War is all you ever knew, and all your skill!'" Prince Indrajit bowed his head. "You were right; I thought to seek Truth, yet in the end I sided with deceit; I thought to do Right, yet I used all my powers to aid my father in doing Wrong." The dead rakshasa sighed; his ancient silver armor glittered with even that slight movement. 

"That was long ago, and the price is long since paid," Vibishana answered. "Why revisit it?" 

"I sought the Truth, and believed that I had found it, presumed to know Truth from the World's illusions. I presumed myself superior to those who fought and killed for mere material things. I, who snared a god in illusion, deceived myself. You saw the truth about me, long ago." Indrajit grinned, revealing a demon's hideous tusks and teeth. "I delight in doing that in which I excel, and I excel at war!" 

King Vibishana smiled. "Prepare to delight yourself; war comes!" 

*      *      *      *

By the time Vegeta returned with a suitable mast timber, the black boat was afloat, though stoutly moored to the shore. 

"Good," the Ferryman grunted as he secured the timber on deck. "Ready to go now." 

Kadru voiced the question first. "We're really going to just sail down that waterfall? That may be fine for Vegeta and Modgudh, but I'm not dead yet, and am not in that much of a hurry to be dead!" 

The Ferryman chuckled. "Fee paid, you ride my boat, I get you there just as good as when you got on. Guaranteed!" 

Vegeta asked the next question, "What did you mean by the 'barrier of Time's Beginning'? What lies below?" He gestured at the yawning abyss. 

The dark man rumbled, "Before Time, there was another Time, the Time Before. That world is gone, but its hell, the Helldarks, still is Before Time. Before the Time Before, is Chaos." 

"So we have to go back in Time, to before the beginning of this universe!" Vegeta bowed his head, awed by the enormity of the quest he'd committed himself to. What am I doing? If I make a mistake... No! I cannot hesitate now; it's far too late. 

Kadru looked puzzled, then comprehending, then puzzled again. "It is the previous Cycle of Brahma, that is obvious, but how could Shiva have failed to destroy the previous Lower World when the time came for destruction and re-Creation? I don't understand," she muttered. 

Prince Vegeta raised his head to stare coldly at the Ferryman. "Cacodemon comes from this Time Before Time, does he not?" 

"Yes," the Ferryman snarled. "He is the weakest of the Chaos gods." 

"The WEAKEST??" Vegeta's eyes widened. "That.. abomination.. is _weak_?" 

"Cacodemon is a broken piece of Wakboth the Devil. In the Time Before Time, the Devil was broken; his pieces are weaker than the whole gods. Is the Devil broken in your Time? If evil is strong in Time, Cacodemon will be stronger, too." 

Prince Vegeta's eyes narrowed; so the demon might be weaker at its origin? Yet.. No! He dared not fight it here, where time and causality could get hopelessly tangled up. Fighting the monster _before_ it came forward in Time to attack him would unravel the whole chain of events that led him here--create a paradox at the beginning of Time. That could be.. bad. 

One paradox was more than enough. "One more thing, though it seems obvious enough.. to attack me, Cacodemon had to come from this Time Before Time to my Time. He travelled forward in Time, like a man with a time machine, didn't he?" 

The Ferryman cocked his head to one side and the other, looking at Vegeta and making that odd chirping sound only Vegeta seemed to hear. "Of course. How else could he do it?" 

Vegeta threw back his head and laughed. "Idiot demon! He fell short of the mark! Cacodemon stopped his little time-trip a few months too early, and killed me _before_ his pet sorceror spat out his dying curse! The fool--Bulma would never have gone looking for that wish and found the Opawang if I hadn't died! CACODEMON AND HIS DAMNED SORCEROR CAUSED THEIR OWN DESTRUCTION!" Vegeta smiled very evilly. "For I _will_ destroy Cacodemon, I promise you that!" 

The Ferryman's opalescent eyes opened a bit, and he grinned terribly, showing tusks and sharp teeth. "So be it!" 

Prince Vegeta smirked every so slightly. "Go, Ferryman! Take us to the Time Before, and show me the way to Chaos!" Prince Vegeta clenched one fist, and smiled grimly. 

"Hang on, rough ride!" said the Ferryman, as he loosened the mooring cable and sculled the boat into the current. The current grabbed the boat and shook it like a hungry crocodile shakes its prey, and then flung the boat forward, shooting toward the waterfall's edge. Kadru fled to the hold, to coil tightly about whatever beams she could find; Modgudh grabbed the sternpost; Vegeta rode the bow, half-standing, half-flying, laughing exultantly. The Ferryman merely braced the oar against the current, forcing the boat on the course he desired, his feet steady on the deck. 

The black boat shot over the edge, seeming to hang in mid-air for an instant, and dropped down, down, down into rushing darkness. They fell with the water, and the water fell with them and on them, into an infinity of darkness... 

*      *      *      *

Something woke Goten. What was it? The little boy clutched his covers close; he wished Mama hadn't moved Gohan out of his room. It made him nervous, sometimes, to be alone. Goten listened intently; he heard something--a voice. A familiar voice, calling him from outside. He crept over to the window and opened it. 

"Daddy? Is that you?" Goten answered softly. 

"Yes, Goten; come quickly! Come outside right now, I need your help--but don't tell Mama or she won't let you come!" answered Goku's voice. 

Goten thought a moment. "Okay" he answered, and started to climb out the window. He dropped to the ground outside and looked around. 

"Where are you, Daddy? I can't see you." 

"Right over here, behind the big tree. Come on, that's it.." 

Goten thought he saw Daddy waving a hand at him and ran excitedly into the woods. He ran around the big tree and stopped short. 

"You're not my daddy!" 

"No, I'm not," answered the demon-dinosaur Scout, in Goku's voice. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XXII. THE HELLDARKS


	23. XXII. The Helldarks

## XXII. THE HELLDARKS

Rough hands seized Pomona and Melchior and dragged them from the shed. Pomona barely had time to notice the empty, merciless eyes of their captors before she and Melchior were tossed into the back of a pick-up truck. The hard metal bed bruised her side, and she groaned. 

"Po? You okay?" Melchior was worried about her as usual, but never had a complaint for himself. Pomona almost smiled; so typical of him! He hadn't been thrown any more gently than she had. 

"Just had the breath knocked out of me," she managed to gasp. "I think we have bigger things to worry about," she added as the truck's engine started. 

The truck bounced down a rough gravel road, bruising and battering the captives unmercifully as well as making conversation impossible. Pomona couldn't see out from her current position, but she could see up; and as the truck bounced downhill, turning back and forth, she saw the walls of a quarry rise up around them. We're going down the service ramps into the quarry, she realized. Finally, they stopped, and she could hear chanting.. and screams. 

"Did you see what happened to the other two?" Melchior asked groggily. Blood trickled down his face where his head had struck the side of the truck. 

"Not sure, but I think there was a car waiting behind this truck. Maybe it was for them?" Pomona shivered, trying not to think of their own fate. 

Before Melchior could answer, the empty-eyed men dragged them from the truck, and carried them forward through the crowd in the pit of the quarry. There were cheers as the two of them were lifted high, and carried to the altar. 

Pomona screamed when she saw what waited at the altar. Pomona screamed, and the great shadowy form laughed, revealing sharp gleaming teeth and incarnadine eyes. Then a familiar figure stepped forward from the throng, eyes bright with a feverish light, long black hair hanging down uncombed. 

"Here are my offerings, O Keikan-Ma! May they find favor in your eyes," Voron mocked a prayer. 

The demon grinned. "They are strong; you have done well, sorceror. Lord Dairi-Mao is pleased; stand forth to receive his blessing," he hissed. As the shadow demon spoke, the sound of great wings flapping echoed off the quarry walls, and something monstrous descended to the altar. Deputy had come to initiate his followers. 

*      *      *      *

Sinhika crouched above, watching. She had followed Enforcer to this quarry-temple, followed and watched he and his human followers convene this unholy ceremony. The descending levels of the pit quarry formed a great natural amphitheatre, and Sinhika watched from the rim of the next level up. Her lips were drawn back in a snarl. 

" _Akaaryuum anishhtuum_! This.. atrocity is.. I cannot let this continue! But.. I cannot fight even Keikan-Ma barehanded, and as for that other _thing_..! Weapons. I need such weapons as my father and uncle used of old--or failing that, sharp arrowheads and a well-honed blade, endowed with my own power. Yes.. these beasts will practice their rites until dawn; I will return before they can escape." She rose, preparing to fly with all her speed back to the city-- 

"--those two at the altar, they are-- no! _Achintya_! This cannot be! Pomona? Melchior? NOOOOOO!" She screamed soundlessly within the illusion of silence. 

*      *      *      *

Deputy reached out and touched Voron's bared chest with one dripping talon; Voron gritted his teeth as the talon seared Deputy's mark into his breast. "You are the first true initiate of Cacodemon in this age, human! Rejoice in your honor and my favor; revel this night in blood and pain!" 

Deputy turned his mighty head toward Enforcer and grinned. "Summon my broo!" 

The smaller demon raised his hands, and the vortex began to form over the altar. Melchior and Pomona sat with their backs to the altar, bound hand and foot, and could see nothing of it, but the sudden stirring of the evil throng told them something was happening. Somehow, Melchior managed to brush Pomona's fingertips with his own. 

"I think this is it, Po." he whispered. 

Pomona smiled sadly, looking at her friend. "Been good to know you, Melc." 

Then they grabbed Melchior. 

*      *      *      *

In Hell, the broo sensed the opening chaos vortex; monsters raised their heads and pricked their ears. Other denizens of the underworld also noticed... 

"Sir! Look, there!" Negi pointed down into one of the more open canyons of the Pit of Worms. "Can you feel it? It's another one of those disturbances! This is the first time we've actually been able to _see_ what happens!" the Saiyan warrior told his commander. 

Commander Kale nodded, intent on the scene below. In the canyon, a darkness churned and swirled and howled, twisting all vision around it. Monstrous things clustered thickly about it; small animal-headed broo and larger things, less identifiable, with tails and tentacles and too many legs and extra heads and other deformations. The crowd of monsters trembled in anticipation. 

"Look, there's some of the big boys," Negi whispered to Commander Kale. "See that house-sized monster with the mirror scales? That's the 'Captain of Ragnaglar'--he seems to be the leader of this bunch. The ram-headed one with the tentacle sprouting from his hip and the extra face on his chest is Howler--very aggressive, tends to attack stupidly, but he always brings along enough fellow idiots to cover his retreat. That.. thing.. that looks like a giant polyp with two tentacle-arms is another sub-leader--I have no idea what they call it, but it's got a lot of power." He turned to his commander. "Now that they're gathering here, shall we attack?" 

"Not yet. I need to know exactly happens with one of these 'disturbances'." Kale gestured with one white-gloved hand at the scene below. "Hold off until whatever is happening has finished. Be ready for my word." 

Suddenly the howling note rose to a piercing shriek, and the dark vortex froze, deepened into absolute blackness. A figure seem to hang suspended in that blackness. The Captain of Ragnaglar leaned forward, sniffed disdainfully, and turned away, disappearing into the twisted canyons. One by one the subleaders also examined the vortex, and turned away, disappointment and disdain plain in their expressions and the set of their bodies. 

The smaller broo howled and surged forward, stronger ones smashing and biting and clawing their way past or through the weaker ones. Finally one surged ahead of the pack and flung himself into the vortex. There was a flare of light, and a human form fell to the ground amid the struggling pack. Negi caught a glimpse of green hair before he disappeared under the crowd of broo. 

"Now! Attack!" ordered Commander Kale. 

"You heard him, you slugs! ATTACK!" Negi yelled to the rest of the squad as he leaped down, landing near one edge of the chaotic pack. Even as his blade sliced one goat head from its owner's shoulders, another dark vortex began to form... 

*      *      *      *

Pomona gasped as something with many coppery legs landed lightly beside her, straddling the altar. It scuttled aside as the smaller shadow demon growled some command to it. Rough hands grabbed her by the feet and shoulders, hoisting her up to rest on the blood-soaked altar. 

"Sorceror Voron," hissed the great winged monster called Lord Dairi-Mao, "you have power now--use it, as you have been taught, and summon my broo yourself!" 

Voron bowed, smirking. "With pleasure, Great Lord." He flung his arms wide and began to chant the ritual, focussing his power on this new task. To one side, a ram-headed broo with the lower body of a giant copper-scaled scorpion watched intently. Pomona shuddered as she caught sight of the distinctive earrings hanging from both ears; earrings last seen on Melchior's ears. 

At last the void yawned, moaning. Pomona turned her head away, only to see the secondary altars set up among the frenzied crowd. She squinted; what was that on the one nearest her? Then she realized what she was seeing, and what they were doing to the young girl tied there... 

At Pomona's brief cry, Voron looked down. "Oh, don't worry--we won't be doing that with _you_! You're much too powerful to waste in mere entertainment. You're just going to die and go to Hell and have your soul eaten by chaos spirits." Voron grinned mockingly. "Throw her in!" 

Pomona struggled desperately, nearly breaking free of the hands holding her, but to no avail. She screamed as she was flung into the void-- 

\--a terrible wrenching agony, as if her very flesh and bone were being turned inside out, a feeling of a vile presense inside her, and then separation. The sensation of being ripped away from herself, and flung into darkness. Then-- 

*      *      *      *

Back at Capsule Corporation, Sinhika flung open the door to the main machine shop. Dr. Briefs and one of his technicians looked up from their work, startled. 

"Dr. Briefs," asked the orange-haired Indian girl wearing a hardhat, "do you have some leaf springs, two meters of #12 steel cable, and about three dozen steel rods I could use?" 

"There should be some in the metal shop supply room," he answered absently, already back to considering the problem before him. 

"Thank you. You're not using the metal lathe or the electric forge right now, are you?" 

"No, not right now.. What are you working on? We're working on the city's power problem," Dr. Briefs looked concerned. 

"I need to make some weapons to kill two large demons--don't worry, I know how to operate the equipment and I have my goggles." Sinhika brandished a set of welder's goggles. 

"Oh, that's fine. That won't interfere with my broadcast power generator. Be careful with that equipment; I wouldn't want you to get hurt." 

"Thank you, Dr. Briefs," Sinhika called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the metal shop. 

*      *      *      *

Over at Bulma's house, Raditz watched Nezumi impatiently. "What do you think you're doing? How is this going to help us find Bulma and Trunks? If something happens to them while you're wasting time--" He snarled and clenched one white-gauntletted fist. 

Nezumi glanced up from the dirt she was examining. "Do you already know where they are? If you do, how am I stopping you from rescuing them right now?" She looked at him, pert and falsely innocent. 

Raditz, dressed in the black and white armor that Bulma had developed, folded his arms and scowled. "No, I don't know where they are!" He fiddled with the slim black scouter attached to his right ear. "I can't even pick up Bulma on this stupid thing, and I know I stored her energy signature when we started calibration." 

"So she's out of range?" Nezumi continued working, snapping quick pictures of the footprints and taking samples. 

"Or dead. Or masked somehow. The demons didn't show up on the scouter at all, nor could I sense them. Maybe they have some way of hiding things from both artificial and natural senses." Raditz paced, still scowling. 

"You're really worried about them, aren't you?" Nezumi looked at him, startled, then thoughtful. "You're not nearly as heartless as you acted this afternoon!" 

Raditz scowled at her. "It's my _duty_ to protect them! I've already failed in my duty, and if anything worse happens to them.." 

"As you say, Raditz-san," Nezumi bent her head down to look at her work, hiding a smile. A few minutes later she frowned thoughtfully. Nezumi pushed the magnifier up on to her forehead. "There's something very odd about these footprints. Not the shape--basic size ten workboots, but what was tracked in and left on the rug--that was odd. I would have expected tar, or maybe mud, but this is some kind of white sand or rock dust. In fact--" she picked up a few grains of the sand with tweezers and dropped it into a test tube from her kit. It bubbled and boiled. "--it's marble dust." 

She pursed her lips and stared at Raditz. "Where do you find marble dust around here? Answer that question, and we just might find Bulma and Trunks!" 

*      *      *      *

Darkness absolute enveloped him, darkness and silence unbroken. It was like nothing he had ever known--complete nothingness. He could see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing, only unending darkness and silence and emptiness. There was no ground beneath him; if he was falling, he could not feel it. 

No power of his could make light in this place--if place it was. Strain as he might, he could see nothing but blackness. Did he still have eyes? He was a spirit--did he still have that false semblance of a body that the Hells had granted him? Did he have ears, and if he did, was there anything to hear? Neither the dead heart that rested unbeating in his breast, nor the stillness of his empty lungs could break the silence within and without. 

He could feel nothing, not ground, not falling, not pain, not even himself. No sensation of power tickled his mind, not his own or any other's. Only empty, silent darkness, forever and ever. 

It seemed that he'd been drifting in the darkness forever; even the memory of light faded. Did he even exist? Perhaps he'd found only Oblivion beyond the borders of Time. Who was he? 

I am.. Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyajin! Why did he cling to that name, that title? It was meaningless, as empty as this place. The Vegeta dynasty was ended, their world destroyed, their subjects dead. Prince of Nothing. The Saiyajin were dead and damned, forgotten except as a vague legend of destruction and evil. 

Not all dead. Not all! Kakarott.. Once his enemy, his rival, sometimes his ally; soft-hearted fool, and yet.. brilliant in combat, worthy of his prince's trust--even if he didn't acknowledge his own prince.. far too lenient with his enemies.. but Vegeta himself had lived, had found a life he never dreamed of because of that lenience. 

Or had it been lenience? He had seen that glint in Kakarott's eyes when they fought their first, magnificent battle; oh yes, Kakarott had revelled in that combat as much as his prince had! Both of them, pushed to their absolute limits and beyond, to--stalemate. Neither of them had truly won, though Vegeta had been forced to retreat; both of them too brutally injured to truly say "I defeated my enemy!" Vegeta knew why Kakarott let him escape Kulilin's vengeance; like Vegeta, he knew they must fight again! It was destiny... 

..A destiny which had eluded him. The last, worst blow had been Kakarott's death fighting Cell, a death from which there would be no return--or so he'd thought. Never to face Kakarott again--for Vegeta knew himself well enough to know that his final destination would NOT be the same as Kakarott's-- never to finally know which of them was the strongest, that was bitter, perhaps even more bitter than his humiliation at Frieza's hands. 

It was more bitter; at least when Frieza killed him, Vegeta had taken with him into the darkness the faint hope that Kakarott--a Saiyan!--would avenge him. Kakarott had then done the impossible, and reached the Super-Saiyan in spite of his soft heart (and occasionally soft head), reached the Super-Saiyan and defeated Frieza. Of course the idiot was then lenient and spared Frieza when he should have finished the alien despot--but his son Trunks had completed the vengeance of the Saiyajin. Yes, that had been sweet! His son avenged both his father's and his grandfather's murders; and Kakarott had, in his way, avenged his own father. 

Kakarott's lenience had an annoying habit of fulfilling destinies.. If he had let Kulilin kill me, I would not have been on Namek to save Gohan and that same idiot who wanted to kill me from the Ginyu Force--and Frieza. Did you ever know how close your son came to dying, Kakarott? Frieza picked your son as his first victim, and only I was fast enough to save Gohan! 

I still suspect you had something to do with the wish that resurrected the Nameks--and myself. Lenient again, Kakarott? You could have worded that wish in such a way as to leave me rotting in my grave. You did not, and I lived.. and had a son. A son without whom you and your whole world was doomed. Hah! 

No words of mine will ever change you, Kakarott. You are destined to be.. lenient, and whatever else you are. It is my destiny to be what I am, and it is _our_ destiny to finally face each other in combat, and learn which of us is the stronger. Did you understand the joy that flashed through me at the sight of you, somehow restored to life and facing that monster? Did you know how much I exulted in the knowledge that we would finally face each other, after that monstrous demon was dead? 

Then Cacodemon killed _me_. _I_ was the one dead without hope of return, gone to a realm that Kakarott would never know! It is almost as if.. as if it is _not_ our destiny to face each other again! Always, when I have come close to facing you, Kakarott, something has intervened--death, marooning in space, monsters trying to destroy the world. Always something! 

This time, I shall return, and you _will_ survive the next battle--I will not permit any other possibility. And then, we _will_ face each other, and I _will_ defeat you, Kakarott! It will be a magnificent battle-- perhaps I won't even kill you. It would be so much more satisfying to humble you, to see you bow before me and acknowledge me as your prince and your better--far more satisfying than standing over your empty-eyed corpse! 

Yes, at least there was Kakarott. And if he'd understood Kakarott truly, Raditz lived as well. Raditz! At least he acknowledged Vegeta as his prince. At least that--Vegeta had always thought him weak, and frequently a fool. Hell seemed to have cured him of being a fool, and perhaps Earth would cure him of being weak. If he was anything like his brother, father and nephews, Raditz had hidden potential. Who knew what he might become, in time? 

Prince of a kingdom of two subjects. Not much more than nothing, was it? Ah, but the Prince had a consort.. Bulma, blue-haired, beautiful, bold, as fiesty as any Saiyan woman--more so, for the Vegeta kings had been too strong and too feared for any woman to defy them to their faces. Bulma never feared to defy him when she was angry. He loved her for it, he was proud that his princess loved to fight him--even though she could not fight him physically. He could fight her way, too. He'd learned to fight with words during the long, bitter years under Frieza, when he dared not openly rebel against Frieza and his lackeys. 

There were so many things that he.. loved her for. Ah, curse this! Even alone, in infinite darkness, it was so hard to admit even to himself what he felt.. or even that he felt. So many, many years of teaching himself not to feel anything, and to hide what he did happen to feel. 

First, he'd been taught that a Prince or King must avoid any attachments, any vulnerabilities that could be used by this faction or that against him, or that could distort his judgement from what must be done. 

I thought I saw in my father's murder and the murder of our world the vindication of that teaching--for he had made the 'mistake' of caring about _me_. A strange 'mistake', for in the normal course of things I would have killed him for the throne when I was ready--but now that I have a son, I begin to understand. 

And under Frieza--how much less did he dare to show any favor to anyone! Frieza's cruel humor delighted in mental torment. Grief and despair entertained that fiend well; there was nothing Frieza liked better than destroying hope. To show any trace of affection for anyone other than Frieza was to doom the unfortunate you cared about. Sometimes I think that bastard was actually jealous of his lackey's affections! 

Not that I liked any of Frieza's other lackeys; I loathed them all! Well, there was one old doctor who was always respectful, even concerned--he'd been on Vegetasai before it was destroyed, and actually _liked_ Saiyajin! I wonder if he survived? He was alive the last time I saw him, but that was long ago. As I remember, his race is quite long-lived... 

No matter; I'm not likely to see him again! I cared only about my own people, Nappa and Raditz, and dared not show that they were anything more than loyal lackeys. In truth, I didn't see Raditz as much more than that, and he never pretended to anything more. Nappa.. was much more. He trained me, all but raised me, taught me of the traditions, and never failed to remind me that I was the Prince of the Saiyajin. I trained myself to never show my true feelings in front of anyone, but always treated Nappa with contempt--for all eyes and ears reported back to Frieza, and we were constantly monitored. 

Too long; too many years of pretended contempt at Nappa's short temper and lack of tact, too many years of pretended contempt for his stupidity and impatience, and the pretense became real. That was Frieza's real victory over me; I became what I pretended to be--a cruel beast without any feelings except hate and anger. 

When did that change? It had to have been Namek--I went through so much on Namek. For the first time in years, I had real hope in my quest--the dragonballs! It would have been insanity to trust to a vague legend, save for one thing: Kakarott died fighting Raditz. He _died_ , and returned to life to face me. It was impossible! It was real. 

I had hope; more hope after I handily defeated Frieza's lackeys--Kiwi, Doddoria, finally Zarbon. I had all the dragonballs at last--so I thought; I was pleased, even joyous in anticipation of my victory, an emotion I had not felt since.. since the fall of Vegetasai. I was so pleased that I was.. lenient. Lenient to that bald idiot, lenient to Bulma, lenient to Kakarott's brat--so I thought of him then. 

I had only contempt for the boy's cowardice during their fight with Nappa--no true Saiyan child would have whimpered and run like that--yet at the end Gohan surprised me, finding courage in anger and striking back at Nappa with unbelievable power. 

He surprised me again, on Namek, coming out to face me when for all he knew I was ready to strike him dead that instant! I saw it in his eyes: the boy was afraid, but he faced me, defied me! I knew then that Raditz had been right--Kakarott's son was a true Saiyan! And more.. he was the first Saiyan I had seen since I returned from Earth, alone, the last of my race. Not the last--not any more! It didn't matter that he was the son of my enemy--he was a Saiyan child, alone on a world occupied by the mortal enemy of the Saiyajin, and I was the Prince of all Saiyajin! 

It was as simple as that. I wondered that I hadn't seen it before; Gohan was a Saiyan child who needed my protection, and it was my duty as Prince to protect him. Or was it merely duty? Sometimes I suspect that I actually.. _like_ the brat! 

Kakarott.. Gohan.. Bulma.. Trunks.. Yes.. my son, whom I first met as a grown man and warrior--and I did not even know him! Or did I? From the beginning, there was something disturbingly familiar about him. I must have been blind not to see that he had my face and my will--and his mother's ridiculous hair. Not that it is ridiculous on Bulma--never that! 

I never did tell her that blue was a favored color among Saiyan women; there were many who dyed their hair that shade. It had a certain.. symbolism. Perhaps I should tell Bulma what it symbolizes some day... 

Day. I can only remember that when I remember _them_ ; I remember how they looked under Earth's sun, or Namek's three stars. I can see Kakarott under the darkened sky of Namek, radiant in his own glory, the first Super-Saiyan in a thousand years! Ah, what a sight that was, to greet me upon my resurrection! Amid the ashes of my broken pride, dying with one last faint hope -- a hope so gloriously fulfilled! 

Kakarott.. there are between us bonds of battle, life and death. You have not feared me since we fought on Earth.. because you know me better than I know myself. Unlike all the others, you know the difference between what I say from pride, and what is in my heart. And I, I have come to know what you are, Kakarott, and what is in your heart. 

Do you know what is in my heart, Kakarott? You know my pride, and you know how I love battle, and I think you know what lies between us.. but do you know the rest of it? Did you ever suspect that I protected your son on Namek, or why? Did you have the least idea how I felt about your "oldest friend" Bulma? Perhaps.. I look back, and you were the only one who could even comprehend the bond between Bulma and I.. a bond _she_ knew existed long before I did! Well, perhaps not all _that_ long.. Heh. 

Vegeta remembered a certain moment in the shower, and Bulma's loud objection that she was NOT his "servant woman". He chuckled to himself, and the very darkness drew back, as if startled--as if laughter was an alien thing. It was still black, but now Vegeta thought he could feel air rushing past his face, as if he were falling. 

How had he gotten here, wherever "here" was? Vegeta remembered standing on the bow, riding the ship down the falls; plunging vertically into the abyss, Vegeta half-flying with it. The ship, and Vegeta, struck.. something. The darkness became thick, viscous, slowing the ship's fall and Vegeta's too. The force of it pulled Vegeta from the ship--he'd only been touching it lightly, flying with it rather than riding it. He'd watched in dismay as the ship plunged down past him, Modgudh still clinging tightly to the sternpost, the Ferryman gripping the steering oar, leaving Vegeta behind, caught in thick darkness like a fly in a spider's web. 

How long he'd been caught in that darkness, he did not know; nor was Prince Vegeta sure that time even had meaning here. How long had he been falling, and would it ever stop? Perhaps he was caught in an-- 

CRUNCH! THUD! Vegeta hit bottom, his body bouncing from the impact, to fall again, nearly every bone in his body shattered. Pain ripped through him; neither unconsciousness nor shock intervened, for the damned have not those comforts. Sheer will alone held Vegeta together; only unstoppable determination kept him from drifting away as a broken wisp of spirit. 

One.. last.. peach. Without thinking, Vegeta tried to reach into his armor with his one good hand and pull it out. 

"ARGGGHHH!" Collarbones broken in several places, and snapped and splintered arms left the Saiyan Prince helpless. I'll have to wait for it to heal, at least a little bit. And Vegeta waited unmoving, broken and bleeding, in the place where Time has no meaning, and forever is now. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XXIII. AKAARYUM


	24. XXIII. Akaaryum

## XXIII. AKAARYUM

A murky red-orange light dimly lit the canyon floor, revealing broken rocks and pools of slime--and about a dozen goat-headed demons crowding close. Pomona staggered to her feet--and shrieked as something touched her from behind. 

"Easy, Po. It's me." Melchior stood at her shoulder, a wry smile on his plain face. "My parents always warned me I'd end up here.." He sighed. 

"Here? What happened, anyway? Are we...?" Pomona stooped and pulled a knife from her boot; three of the goat-demons hissed at her; the others seemed to be looking anxiously over their shoulders. 

Melchior nodded. "I think so." 

A goat-demon reached for Pomona; the pink-haired girl slashed at it with the knife, and it pulled its hand back hurriedly. "Uh, Melc, any idea what these things want, or how we can get them to go away?" 

"I dunno; they're not talking to me. I don't think it's good." Earrings glittered in the light as he turned his head this way and that, watching the goat-demons in front of him. "They can be hurt." Pomona finally noticed that one of the goat-demons was sprawled at his feet, unmoving. "I wish I had a real weapon, though." 

"HAI!" A shout from somewhere in the murk, and something came flashing down toward them. Melchior grabbed it reflexively, and found himself holding a katana. 

"'Ask and ye shall receive..' All right!" The green-haired lad gripped the sword with both hands and slashed the nearest goat-demon. It fell back, guts spilling onto the ground. Another growled and rushed him, only to lose its throat. Something whined and exploded in the distance, and several of the goat-demons turned and bolted into the fog. 

"Forget these two," snarled another goat-demon. "Saiyajin coming!" The remaining goat-demons froze, sniffing the air and listening. As one, they turned and ran. 

Pomona turned to look at Melchior and the carnage he'd wrought. "Damn! Where'd you learn to fight like that? I thought you were a pacifist!" 

"Tae Kwan Do, a little Kendo. Everyone's got to have a hobby." Melchior shrugged, looking slightly embarassed. "I don't like fighting, but I don't care to be a punching bag, either". 

Pomona raised one eyebrow. "Geez, you think you know your friends, and they're still full of surprises. Now what?" 

A tall figure dropped silently out of the mist to the canyon floor in front of them. "Now, you come with us." 

Pomona stared at the figure in front of her--a man in some antique armor with long, unruly black hair tumbling down his back; a long scar crossed his face and perhaps accounted for the eyepatch worn over one eye; and a furry brown belt was wrapped snuggly around his waist. There was something vaguely familiar about the man's look--she knew she'd seen someone like him before. 

"Who are you, and why are we going with you?" Melchior asked, one eyebrow raised. 

"I'm the warrior who owns that sword you're holding. For a weakling human who doesn't like to fight," the tailed warrior sneered contemptuously, "you do some damage," he allowed grudgingly, glancing at the fallen broo. "You should have finished them, though." 

The tailed warrior held out one hand; glowing energy gathered around it and surged forward in a beam to strike the sprawled bodies, incinerating them. Wisps of broken spirit seeped away. "You only hurt them; they would have recovered." 

"Oh. Well, they looked dead to me!" Melchior shrugged, and presented the hilt of the katana to the strange warrior. "Thanks for the blade." 

"Don't thank me, human! It was only an accident that it wound up in your hands!" the Saiyan glowered, strangely embarassed. He took the katana back, and sheathed it. "I am Negi. You're coming with me because I've been ordered to take you two back to report to the king." 

"That almost makes sense," noted Melchior. "What king, and what kingdom is this?" 

Negi scowled. "King Vegeta, Duke Infernal of the Hell of Evil Warriors--which is where you are. You don't belong here, so somebody a whole lot higher up than me has to sort this damn mess out! Now get moving!" the dead Saiyan snarled. 

"I'm moving, I'm moving!" Melchior set off in the indicated direction. With a shrug, Pomona followed him. 

"You know something, Melc?" she asked her green-haired friend. 

"What, Po?" Melchior concentrated on hauling himself up the steep trail that Negi bounced up like a mountain goat. 

"It's such a relief to know that we don't belong here.." 

*      *      *      *

Goku materialized just outside Bulma's house; he was about to go inside, when he sensed another, familiar presence. Piccolo! He flew up, and found the Namek warrior hovering high above, watching. 

"Hey, Piccolo! Have you found them? What's Raditz doing?" 

"No, I can't sense them nearby; as for your brother---" Piccolo broke off abruptly, and turned his head toward the east. 

"Ahhh! It's back!" Goku gasped. 

"You've sensed it as well?" Piccolo asked abruptly. 

"Yes, for months. It comes, and disappears again before I can find it." Goku frowned. "It's evil, and incredibly powerful.. like the demon that killed Vegeta." 

"It's not disappearing so fast this time!" Piccolo snarled. "I heard the demon called Deputy boast of his plans to Raditz; Vegeta's death, the attack on Raditz, Bulma and Trunks kidnapping--they all go together, Son. This.. evil.. reappearing now is no coincidence." 

Goku nodded. "There's no time to waste; it could vanish at any moment! Let's go!" Power flared as Goku plunged eastward through the sky. A heartbeat later, Piccolo caught up with him, and paced him as they flew. 

*      *      *      *

"..the rift vortex these demons create requires a soul of close to the same power to make the exchange. It might be possible to stop the exchange by stopping the broo from entering the vortex on this side, sire." Once again, Commander Kale knelt before his king, and brought the Saiyan monarch less-than-welcome news. 

King Vegeta frowned. "Then why didn't you stop the exchange??" he snapped. 

Kale swallowed quickly. "It also might blow the rift wide open, sire--and I lack the power to close an open rift." 

The auburn-haired king glared at the white-cloaked commander kneeling before him, and then turned his head to glare at the red-cloaked warrior standing beside him. 

"That means I send you, Bardock," King Vegeta growled to the scar-faced warrior who greatly resembled Kakarott. "Get your team, and deal with these damn broo and their rifts--now! Dismissed!" 

"Sire!" Bardock knelt and saluted, and then left quickly, his red cape swirling behind him. 

After Bardock's departure, the dead king turned back to the rest of his court. His gaze flicked up and down the line of bull-headed demons--Gozu Oni--standing guard, and came to rest on their Captain. 

"Nappa, prepare to--" 

\--Reality strained, twisted, and finally gave way-- 

"--WHAT IN ALL THE HELLS IS THAT?" King Vegeta jumped to his feet, staring at the shimmering void that had appeared in the air near the ceiling. It looked like a rectangular pool of black water, standing on edge; it reflected the light in shimmering waves, but revealed nothing of itself. 

Commander Kale swallowed again. "It's a rift, sire," he heard himself saying. 

King Vegeta glared at the hapless warrior; his arm trembled and energy glowed around his hand. "Don't tell me the obvious, Commander! Since _you_ are here, take your team and find out where that damn thing goes--and make sure whatever opened it doesn't ever do it again! Don't bother coming back until you do! Now, get out of my sight!" 

"Yes, sire!" Kale bowed and retreated with as much speed as dignity allowed. 

The king turned back to the Captain of the Gozu-Oni. "Nappa--" 

The doors that had just swung shut behind Kale re-opened, and Kosho, King Vegeta's chamberlain, entered. 

"NOW WHAT?" King Vegeta snarled. 

"Sire," announced his chamberlain, a black-bearded Saiyan of average height, "Prince Indrajit of the Rakshasas requests an audience with you.." Kosho paused, and then continued in a slightly surprised tone, "He says he's here on behalf of Prince Vegeta." 

*      *      *      *

Prince Vegeta waited, broken in the darkness. He remembered--all he could do was remember, now. He did not care to remember the bitter years under Freeza--let them be forgotten. Before that.. his father, Nappa, the elite warriors of Vegetasai--also bitterness to remember. All gone.. Though their souls still lived, in the Hells, the world that had been home was gone forever. Only his newest home, Earth, still lived--and this demon of Chaos meant to destroy that, too! Rage seared through Vegeta; for all his promises and will, he was helpless, a broken thing lost in darkness! 

There must be some way.. what had Kakarott done when he lay, broken and helpless? Others had helped him. Help from others.. something Vegeta had always disdained--it meant he was weak, that he could not do for himself. Well, he _was_ weak now, he could not do for himself what _must_ be done. It was not the first time--but his pride would never let him admit to others that he'd really needed help.. Only once, when he was dying at Freeza's feet, had he admitted his need to Kakarott. Only once.. but there had been other times. That son of Kakarott's seemed to have a talent for.. rescuing Vegeta, though Vegeta had never thanked him for it.. Gratitude would have been an admission of weakness, of needing help. 

Now.. he needed help. And there was no one to ask.. 

*No one?* 

Vegeta started; what was that? A presence, dimly felt.. 

"Who's there?" 

As if in answer, something warm enfolded him, warming him and taking away the agony of his broken bones. He could feel bones shift and set, knitting together; torn muscles reattached themselves; wounds closed. 

"Who are you?" Vegeta asked. 

*Solace-In-Darkness* 

"Why did you heal me?" 

*That is my nature* 

Prince Vegeta scrambled to his feet, and flexed his hands--or rather, one hand. The other hand was still cold and paralyzed. "Can you heal my left hand?" 

*No. It is not injured* 

"WHAT??" Vegeta's eyes opened wide in astonishment, though he still could not see anything. "Then why can't I use it?" 

*You don't know how to use it* 

"That's ridic--" Vegeta stopped abruptly; eyes narrowing. Perhaps this being knew what he--no, _she_ \--was talking about? "How do I use it?" 

*Your hand knows how to use itself; trust yourself* 

"Answer the question!" 

*I cannot* 

"Or will not? Never mind. Answer another question--how do I find the Chaos Hells, and Cacodemon's lair?" 

*You cannot. You are trapped within the Chambers of Subere, the darkness that has never known Light* 

Cold sweat beaded Vegeta's forehead. This was not good! If he could not escape.. Wait! Something in the dark being's words.. But he'd have to _ask_ for help again! This was impossible! He was the Prince of the Saiyajin, he didn't _ask_ for anyone's help! 

But, he was Prince of the Saiyajin; he was responsible for his subjects: all five or six of them--and the blue world he claimed as his own. The stakes were too high; even the king did not go into battle alone and unaided. 

" _I_ cannot, you say. Can _you_ guide me out of this darkness?" 

*Yes* The warm darkness enfolded him in its--no, _her_ \--arms again, and took him away. 

*      *      *      *

"Goten?" Raditz froze abruptly; sweat broke out on his forehead. 

"Hmmm?" Nezumi looked up from her list of marble and decorative rock dealers, monument makers, and similar businesses that dealt in marble. Red marks adorned the map of Satan City she'd taped to the conference room table. 

"Something's wrong with Goten.. I felt him start to call for help, then nothing." He looked at Nezumi, eyes wide. "I can't sense him at all!" 

"Uhmm, maybe he's too far away? You said you couldn't sense Bulma because she's so weak, and your nephew is just a little boy.." 

"I can _always_ sense Goten, no matter where he is!" Raditz growled. "I told them the demon was after him, too! WHY DIDN'T ANYONE LISTEN??" 

Nezumi winced. "HEY! Don't yell at me, I didn't do it!" Sensing his urgency, she folded up her map and list. 

"Come on!" Raditz grabbed her by the arm and half-dragged her out the door as she stumbled along, trying to keep up. 

"Where--" 

"My brother's house--that's where Goten is or was. Whatever's wrong has to do with what took Bulma and Trunks. Hang on!" Raditz grabbed Nezumi under her arms and wrapped his tail around her waist. 

"WHAA--!!" Nezumi felt like her stomach was left a couple thousand feet below as they rocketed straight up and over, heading toward the waning moon. 

*      *      *      *

"Watch yourself, Son Goku! It's coming straight at you!" Piccolo hovered above the swampy ruins of the Eastern Capital; below him the mud boiled as something burst from the mire. 

"I see it!" Goku yelled. "It's horrible--I haven't felt anything this evil before! It has nothing but evil ki--and it's huge!" As the thing rose from below, he transformed, his hair blazing golden, eyes turned to glowing turquoise. The energy of his transformation crackled and seethed around him. 

It was half the size of an ouzaru, covered with glowing red fur; monstrous bat-like wings flapped with an unnatural slowness as the thing ascended to meet them. A face like a giant bat's turned toward them; tentacles writhed and fused and split again all around its mouth. It screamed. 

Piccolo put his hands to his head and groaned as the harsh scream pierced his ears, bringing pain undreamed of. Blood ran from Piccolo's ears, nose and mouth. Goku also shook his head from side to side, as if clearing his ears; there was a puzzled look on his face. 

"..." he said, and then realized he could hear nothing. Piccolo pointed at his ears and shook his head; they were both deaf. Goku pointed at the monster. 

"......!" Piccolo shouted as he hurled a tremondous energy beam straight into the creature's face. It dodged, but not quite fast enough; one wing was holed. 

It snarled soundlessly, and twin rays of ruby light shot from its eyes toward the green alien. Piccolo dodged. The fight was on. 

*      *      *      *

"My lords," Voron bowed to the two chaos demons that he knew as Keikan-Ma and Dairi-Mao, "all is in readiness. Einak and Rabnai know their tasks and are eager to begin," the chaos sorceror indicated the two broo who had been successfully summoned with the sacrifice of Pomona and Melchior. He continued, "My assistant Caleb tells me he will soon capture another human with power, and your two special victims are at hand, and starting to recover consciousness. They are ready for your pleasures." The young man smirked. 

Deputy nodded his huge dog-like head. "Enforcer, I am pleased with you; you have chosen well with this one." The great demon rocked back on his tail. 

<Enforcer, get things started! Sooner or later our enemies will recover their senses and get organized--let there be a suitable reward for them when they finally do!>

<Yes, Great Deputy!> The shadow demon hissed an order to his followers, and they hastened to obey. The wicked throng fell silent as the unconscious bodies of a blue-haired woman and a lavendar-haired boy were carried to the altar, and tied upright to wooden frames, one to either side of the altar, facing each other. 

"Use chains for the child, you fool, not rope!" Voron snapped, and two cultists scurried quickly to obey. 

Deputy's eyes widened suddenly, and he giggled with pleasure. <Enforcer, prepare for another! Scout has finally accomplished something--he has the child Goten for us! He comes even now.>

<It shall be done, Great Deputy!> Enforcer summoned Voron to him, and snarled his orders; Voron bowed low, and gathered some more of the cultists, and set them about the needed tasks. 

"Wake them," Enforcer growled. 

Splash! Bulma woke up sputtering; someone had just dashed a bucket of cold water in her face. Her head hurt abominably, and her arms ached; she tried to shift her position, and realized that she couldn't move--her arms were tied in place. 

"WHAT DID YOU DO.. that.. for?" As Bulma opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Trunks, chained to a heavy wooden frame on the other side of a blood-stained block of marble. He, too, was soaked with cold water and sputtering awake. Next to him crouched a monster--a ram-headed demon with horns of brass or gold, and brassy, wiry fur covering its body. 

Bulma looked quickly around; a crowd of very nasty looking people, another monster next to her--this one a sort of goat-headed scorpion centaur with copper plates instead of chitin--another monster like a nine-foot shadow with sharp teeth standing behind the altar, and perched on the rocks behind him--! 

"EEEEEEEEEE!" Bulma screamed at the sight of Deputy crouching above her. 

Deputy giggled. "I killed Raditz; his blood tasted good." Deputy flicked out his long, barbed tongue and licked his lips with exaggerated slowness. "I promised my broo they could play with you and Trunks for a while." Deputy giggled again, then stared hard at Enforcer. 

"Strip them!" the shadow demon commanded. 

Two of Voron's picked men reached up to rip away Bulma's clothing-- 

THWACK! THWACK! Each man stopped abruptly, and collapsed to the ground, a steel arrow protruding from his chest. THWACK-THWACK! Two men approaching Trunks fell. 

"Cacodemon! NOT NOW!" Deputy's head snapped up and he howled angrily. Powerful legs bent as he crouched and sprang into the air, great wings flapping. 

TH-CHING! An arrow glanced off of Einak's copper plates; SHUNK! Another arrow missed Rabnai and embedded itself in the wooden frame as the brass-horned broo dove to one side. 

<ENFORCER! DEAL WITH THIS!> Deputy bellowed to his demon servant over their mindlink. <I have another problem to solve!>

"YEAH!" Bulma yelled. "I think we've got a friend out there!" she shouted to Trunks. 

"MOM! ARE YOU OKAY??" the boy shouted, tugging at his chains. 

"DO I LOOK OKAY TO YOU??" Bulma tugged futilely at her ropes. 

SHOOOM! An arrow blazing with power hit Einak in the middle of the chest and exploded in a blaze of light. When everyone's dazzled vision cleared, the copper scorpion-broo could be seen slumped against the altar, blood pouring from a massive hole through its chest. 

Voron took one look, and dove behind the marble slab altar. Rabnai, the brass-horned broo, joined him there as another blazing arrow just missed his head. 

BOOM! It exploded against the marble floor of the quarry and showered rock splinters in all directions. 

"MOM! ARE YOU HURT?" Trunks' face blanched in terror for his mother. 

"NO, I'M NOT HURT." Bulma thought she wasn't likely to stay unhurt, tied up on display in the middle of a battle, but she spared Trunks that encouraging thought. 

Enforcer strode forward, scanning the quarry for the deadly archer. From the angle of the shots, the archer was on one of the upper terraces, or flying... Nothing. He could see nothing. The shadow demon growled. So, the elusive Defender-of-Temples had returned! 

"Put out the fires," he snarled to the worthless human slaves. Enforcer would battle in his element, darkness. 

SHIIP! SHIIP! SHIPP! SHIPP! Bulma dropped to the ground as the ropes binding her parted, neatly sliced by four arrows. 

*      *      *      *

Goten opened his eyes a crack; they were still flying through the night. He held very still; as long as the bad dinosaur thought Goten was still asleep, it wouldn't hit him on the head and knock him out again. 

Goten was so very scared; he bit his lip to keep from crying. The bad dinosaur must not hear him! He wished Daddy or Gohan or Uncle Raditz or _someone_ was here to help him. He wished very hard, with all his heart. 

*Goten* 

A kind voice in his head, where the 'not-fun' people spoke.. like Uncle Raditz used to. But he couldn't answer! The bad dinosaur would hear him! 

*Just think of what you would say, as if you were just about to say it, and I'll hear you* 

Grandma Kinoko? I want my daddy! 

*Talk to Raditz; tell him that* 

But he's not here! 

*You've talked to my son before when he wasn't here. Like this..* and she showed Goten. 

Oh. Wow! I can do that? 

*Yes, you can do that. Be brave, little warrior; your path will not be easy, but courage will see you through* 

Something kissed Goten lightly on the forehead; Kinoko told him one more thing--and was gone. 

*      *      *      *

<NUNK RATS!>

"Huh?" Raditz halted in mid-air, prompting an "Urk!" from Nezumi. 

<Goten?> answered Raditz. <I hear you, kid>

"What's going on?" she asked. 

"It's Goten; I can hear him, but I can't sense his presence." 

<N'Uncle Raditz, the bad dinosaur that hit Mama tricked me! He came back and pretended to be Daddy and grabbed me! I want you and Daddy and Gohan!>

"I don't hear anything," Nezumi looked around, confused. 

<Goten, listen--tell me where you are, if you can>

<I DON'T KNOW!> the child wailed mentally. <It's dark, and the bad dinosaur is flying up in the air!>

<Can you see the ground? Lights? Anything different? Which way is the moon?>

"He's speaking telepathically," Raditz tossed out an aside to Nezumi. 

<The moon is back that way, N'Uncle Raditz.> Raditz got an impression of the lunar orb shining behind them. <Oooh! I see some fires. The bad dinosaur is turning toward the fires>. 

"They're toward Satan City somewhere," Raditz said absently, as he reversed direction and flew back the way he came. 

<N'Uncle Raditz! The fires are in a big, big, big hole in the ground!>

<Goten, do you mean a cave??>

<No! It's a hole in the ground! I know what a cave is--I'm not stupid!> Goten thought indignantly. <It's got giant steps going down to the middle, and the walls are all white>

"A hole in the ground with giant steps?" Raditz muttered aloud. 

<Kid, can you show me a picture? Think of what you're seeing.>

"Crud! I see what he thinks he's seeing, and I don't recognize it, either! It's a stepped pit, narrowing as it gets deeper, dug in some white rock. There are ramps from level to level, and some buildings up on the edge.." 

"Stepped pit?" Nezumi thought aloud. "Sounds like a quarry to me--I'VE GOT IT! RADITZ, STOP FOR A MINUTE!" She pulled out her map as Raditz halted in mid-air again. "Look!" Nezumi pointed at the map; "There's an abandoned marble quarry northwest of Satan City! Remember the marble dust in the footprints?" 

"What? All I see on that map is 'Quarry'--how do you know all that other stuff?" Raditz was skeptical, worried, hopeful all at once. 

"I used to be a cop, remember? Five years ago there was a double homicide out there--the owner and his wife--and the investigation was a hot item in the department for a while. I hear the property got tangled up in legal fights between the heirs, and no one has actually operated the quarry in the last few years. Okay?" 

Reading a map while dangling in mid-air from someone's arms would have been daunting enough for most people, but not Nezumi. She twisted her head and shoulders around to look Raditz in the face to see his reaction--and turned crimson as she realized how close he was. Fortunately for Nezumi's dignity, Raditz's thoughts were elsewhere. 

<Goten, we're on the way! Hang on, kid!>

*      *      *      *

Deputy hovered above the quarry pit. <O Greater Self! Cacodemon!>

Thoughts hurled across the mindlink, to meet an animalistic rage. Deputy growled to himself; this incarnation of his demon-god parent was stupid and madly aggressive--exactly what Cacodemon had feared. He sensed his greater self as if it was a second body he wore miles away--Deputy searched that self, and studied his gifts. 

<MASTER! YOU ARE NOT READY!> Deputy shouted over the mindlink. <YOU ARE WASTING YOUR POWER--DISPERSE BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!>

Only rage answered him, rage at the two tiny figures that taunted it. Deputy howled in anger; one was Son Goku! Already the battle had begun. He would have to invoke the Name to bring Cacodemon to heel--and that was not a trivial ritual. First he would have to end this little fracas in the quarry-temple, and hope that his greater self survived until then. 

Deputy bellowed his anger and frustration as he descended; someone's body and soul would pay for this! Scout circled below him, bringing the child Goten; Deputy almost howled with anticipation. Yes, the child's blood and agony would slake his rage! 

Intent on his thoughts and worries, Deputy took no note of the streak of white fire approaching from the southeast... 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XXIV. AT THE HILL OF GOLD


	25. XXIV. At the Hill of Gold

## XXIV. AT THE HILL OF GOLD

Bulma collapsed gracelessly to the ground, her legs numb from hours of being tied up, unconscious. She rolled behind the wooden frame, and looked again. 

"TRUNKS!" Darkness crept in as the fires were put out one by one; in the dimness, Bulma could see the white glow surrounding her son. So could Enforcer. 

With a roar, the shadow demon stepped over the altar towards Trunks-- 

A high-pitched yell split the air. "ARROW STORM!" 

SHOOM! SHOOM! SH-SH-SHOOM! SHOOM! SH-SH-SHOOM-SH-SH-SHOOM! 

Enforcer howled and staggered as dozens of blazing arrows impaled him, pierced him, blasted through him. Dark ichor ran from dozens of gaping wounds; the monster fell to his knees, coughing black blood. 

Bulma finally got control of her legs and staggered to her feet, looking this way and that; the wounded demon was between her and Trunks! Finally she ran around _behind_ the altar-- 

\--a rough hand grabbed Bulma by the ankle and pulled her down. Rabnai leaped out from his hiding place under the altar slab and threw himself on the blue-haired woman. "You're mine," he leered. 

Trunks screamed in rage; the wooden frame exploded as power blazed around the lavendar-haired boy. He dropped to the ground, loose manacles still hanging from his wrists and ankles. 

"LEAVE MY MOTHER ALONE!" Trunks jumped over the altar in one bound to confront the brass-haired broo. 

Rabnai jumped to his feet, snarling. The metal-horned broo raised one hand and pointed at Trunks; a narrow beam of green light darted from his finger to splash off the aura surrounding Trunks. 

"No, you idiot--not a Disruption! He's too strong!" Voron could be heard cursing from under the altar in the silence that followed. 

Rabnai snarled wordlessly, lowered his head, and charged Trunks, razor-edged horns foremost. Trunks dodged nimbly aside, twisted, swept one foot out, and tripped the charging broo. Rabnai went skidding on his face for several yards-- 

Under the altar, Voron's fingers wove and twisted as he incanted a spell-- 

High above, Deputy looked around. Yes! That flurry of arrows came from right.. over.. there! The source was still invisible, but Deputy knew his prey had to be there. He folded wings and dropped-- 

Trunks moved his hands rapidly in a series of gestures-- 

In response to Voron's silent call, the two lesser broo pushed through the rapidly thinning crowd toward the altar. 

THWACK! Another steel arrow impaled the goat-horned broo. The antelope-horned broo dove for cover without waiting to find out what happened-- 

With a roar, Deputy spun in mid-air and lashed out with his tail. It connected! There was a cry of pain, and a dark shape fell to the quarry floor, flung by the force of the blow. 

A plume of searing energy erupted from Trunks' flattened palm, enveloping Rabnai the Broo. There was a long drawn-out cry as the demon was consumed by Trunks' power. 

Sinhika staggered to her feet, still holding her steel bow; blood ran down her face. She promptly vanished again. 

Bulma tried to bolt to cover, only to find that she could not move! It felt like she was embedded in thick, gooey mud--only with the greatest effort could she move an arm a few inches. 

Voron laughed. "Don't bother. You're much too important to Lord Dairi-Mao for me to let you get away." 

Out of the corner of his eye, a flash of lavendar hair-- 

"SHIELD!" A flare of power as Voron crossed his arms over his face-- 

"HAIIII-YAAA!" Trunks flung a blast of ki at the Chaos sorceror, who vanished in a cloud of glittering white dust and smoke. As Trunks watched, the smoke cleared to reveal a trail of scorch marks twenty yards long. Voron crouched at the end of it, forced against the back wall of the quarry, arms still crossed in front of his face, clothes smouldering. The goth sorceror lifted his head cautiously, and peeked at Trunks over his arms. 

"Uhhhnnn!" Trunks doubled over as Deputy's tail swept down out of the darkness to catch him in the stomach. The force of the blow picked him up and flung him back over the altar to fall on the quarry floor. For long seconds, the boy did not move. 

"YOU BASTARD!" The shrieks were simultaneous from Bulma and from the empty air, followed by-- 

"ARROW STORM!" 

SHOOM! SHOOM! SH-SH-SHOOM! SHOOM! SH-SH-SHOOM-SH-SH-SHOOM! Blazing arrows lanced out of the darkness toward Deputy as he settled on the altar-- 

\--only to glance off his armored hide, or be flicked away with one contemptously wave of his razor-clawed hand. Deputy's jaws opened wide, and fire vomited into the air. A dark shape was suddenly silhouetted in the blaze, and someone screamed; the shape fell from the air to smash into the rocks below. 

Trunks stirred, groaning with pain as he sat up. His face and right shoulder were dusty and bleeding from hitting the rocks. He panted, short of breath, exhausted. He looked up as a shadow came between him and the fires at the altar. 

Enforcer loomed over him as it plucked the last of the arrows from its chest, the shadowstuff rippling and closing over the wounds. It grinned, baring all those impossibly sharp teeth. A massively clawed hand lashed out and knocked Trunks sprawling. 

Deputy leaped into the air, great wings flapping; as he passed over the quarry, his tail snapped down to pick up a fallen body from the quarry floor, and fling it at the foot of the altar. 

<Summon the best of my broo, Enforcer! This one has power! Clean up this mess and prepare--I will return soon!>

Voron staggered back to the altar to where Bulma was still caught in his spell. An evil smirk twisted his face; he slapped Bulma twice, ringing blows on either side of her face. "You and your brat will pay for that, oh yes! There's still one broo left--weak as he is, I'm sure he'll be strong enough for you. The rest of us will take turns entertaining the boy." The sorceror laughed cruelly. 

Enforcer flung Trunks limp body at Voron's feet, followed by another--this one strange to Bulma. A black-skinned girl with orange hair.. and fangs, and sharp claws; she was unconscious, somewhat singed, and bleeding from various scrapes and cuts. There was something familiar about her, nonetheless.. 

"Bind them!" Enforcer commanded his lackeys, and they hurried to obey. 

"Why are you doing this to us?" Bulma asked Voron, mind numb with horror. 

"Oh, that's part of the torment--we're going to degrade and torture your son to death in front of your very eyes, and do the same to you--and you'll never know why." Voron smiled, an insane light in his eyes. 

A narrow-winged shaped spiralled down from the dark sky; Scout landed atop the altar, clutching a small, dark-haired body to his chest. 

"Masssters! I have the child Goten!" 

*      *      *      *

"DIIIIIEE!!" Vegeta screamed as he flung the blazing ki sphere at his enemy. The hulking monster raised his weapon and batted the sphere away to explode somewhere in the distance--only to stagger as a barrage of dozens of smaller blasts hit him and exploded. Vegeta dove in to rain blow after blow on the monster, only to have it dodge and block him with its weapon. 

By the light of his own attack, Vegeta could see the monster; it was black, massively muscled, armored in ancient blood-red metal, and bore a disturbing resemblance to the Ferryman. Disturbing, for where the Ferryman was laconic and peaceful, this monster was all snarling rage--muscles knotted, veins standing out, eyes wide, nostrils flared, froth and blood dripping from its lips. It towered over Prince Vegeta, twelve feet of madness and fury incarnate. 

*      *      *      *

Some time before, Solace-In-Darkness had left in him at the edge of darkness, with only a parting whisper: 

*Beware my brother. Hate is his nature, and he hates Light most of all* 

Vegeta had wandered for a while, marking the landmarks and contours of this strange new hell--a dark rocky wilderness lit only by the Saiyan's own power. No plants save mushrooms and strange fungi softened the jagged hills; no birdsongs pierced the silence; only monstrous insects crawled over the broken wilderness of Darkness. Other dark shapes flitted at the edge of awareness; Vegeta knew he had been watched. 

The monster ambushed him in a narrow defile through the hills. As Vegeta ran through the shadowed canyon--reluctant to waste precious energy on flight--the thing--larger and broader than even the late Doddoria--had lept from the shadowed rocks and smashed him down with a single over-hand blow of the terrible flaming club that it carried. 

It had _tried_ to smash him down, that is. Vegeta's reflexes had kicked in and he'd danced nimbly aside, responding with a quick blast from his right hand. That was the first time the monster parried one of his blasts with its club. 

"Child of Dehore, snuff this fire!" howled the monster, and flung something blacker than darkness to envelope Prince Vegeta. 

Cold. Silence. Darkness. Terror. The primordial Darkness of the Chambers of Subere seemed to embrace the Saiyan prince once again, a black oblivion that sought to empty him into nothingness... 

No. 

Searing cold, ancient terrors of night and shadow, devils lurking in the darkness, just behind, ready to devour the blind, helpless prince... 

No! 

Freezing, numbing, soul-draining cold, paralyzing the lost prince, leaving him forever blind and frozen, forgotten and alone... 

NO! I AM VEGETA, PRINCE OF THE SAIYAJIN, AND YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A SHADOW! 

Light exploded outward, piercing the Darkness with fiery arrows until it shrivelled, crackled, and disappeared. Golden fire enveloped Vegeta, seethed and flickered through his hair, intensifying until his hair blazed golden, his dark eyes now green as turquoise as he glared at the monster. 

"DIE, LIGHT-SON, DIIIIEE!!" thundered Zorak Zoran, Darkness god of Death and Hate, brother of Xiola Umbar, who is also called Solace-In-Darkness--and the battle was joined. 

*      *      *      *

In the Ninth Hour, the Barge of Ra ran aground, scraping the wreckage-strewn bed of the Stygian Nile. Diverted by Apep's Chasm, the waters of the Stygian Nile no longer flowed in their ancient bed, and the Sun was stranded in the depths of Night. 

*      *      *      *

In Hell, Commander Kale waited impatiently for Negi to gather the rest of the small team--they'd scattered to the four winds as soon as they returned from the mission. Typical, thought Kale sourly. Negi and his cronies would rather brawl in the barracks than chase will-o-wisp demons out in the slime canyons. At least in the barracks they were sure of finding someone to fight. 

Some of them, Kale reflected darkly, still didn't understand the whole point of Hell; they were still sure there must be some way to "have fun" down here--or to get out. Kale himself wasn't sure he understood the point of this place. Why were they condemned to this realm of endless sorrow? Justice? No--the victims of the Saiyans had their justice already, when the Saiyans all died the very same death they'd dealt out to so many others. Lives ripped away in an instant, a unique world utterly destroyed; no descendants to remember them or mourn them, not even graves to hold their bones, just dust drifting in the void of space. No--what had happened to them was not justice; it went too far. What crime had the very fish and birds and beasts of Vegetasai committed, that the whole world should be slain like that? 

He knew that he'd done evil things in his lifetime--if Kale had had any doubts, his Judgement had made everything terribly clear--but what choice had he had? It was what the Saiyans were; they were born to fight--blame whatever gods made us that way! The life he'd lived and died was the only life he knew; was it justice to be damned for being what the gods had made of him? Was it right to suffer eternally for doing his duty, for his loyalty to his king, for his courage in battle? He'd done what was right by his people's laws and traditions all his life--he had nothing to regret. Yet still he suffered in this place of anguish... 

Tap, tap. 

"What the?" Kale whirled, startled by the unexpected tap on his shoulder. No one ever dared _tap_ a commander on the shoulder! He stared in confused astonishment at the pink-haired girl in the black leather miniskirt who stood there, scowling angrily. Who--oh, yes. One of the lost souls they'd picked up in the Pit. 

"What do you think you're--" the white-cloaked Saiyan started to snarl. 

"Doing? What I want to know is that the hell you think you're doing?!?" snapped Pomona, cutting him off in mid-question. She continued without giving Kale a chance to answer. "I wasn't going to complain about the 'accomodations', seeing as this _is_ Hell and it's temporary, but the company is another thing entirely! What did you do, search the hells for the two slimiest bastards you could find to put in with us?? If that child-molesting psychopath wasn't bad enough--fortunately Melc and I are a bit too old for his tastes!--that other little weasel pervert, the one who was whimpering all the way here, got his courage and his pathetic excuse for manhood up and made a major annoyance of himself." Pomona skirted the details, but the disgust was plain on her face. "Now don't get me wrong, I can handle his type, but your man Negi had to go and interfere before I got finished with him--and then he wouldn't let us find some other room away from those creeps! I am NOT going back there, and neither is Melchior!" Pomona crossed her arms indignantly; Kale noticed for the first time that Negi and the other gaudily-haired human were behind her. 

Kale glared disdainfully at Pomona, and spoke to Negi. "Why am I being bothered with this?" 

Negi looked sheepish. "The others don't want them back, either." A ghost of a smirk flashed across his face for a moment, and he continued, "and there'll be less trouble if we separate them. I don't have the authority to do that, sir--and you said we can't punish them, because they haven't been condemned yet." 

He didn't need this. Commander Kale really didn't need this-- The King was displeased with his inability to finish off the alien demons infesting the Pit of Worms, he was about to enter an unknown rift to who-knows-where to face who-knew-what, and now this! His best sergeant was bothering him about a bunch of insignificant lost _human_ souls! 

"Since you're so concerned about these.. these creatures," Kale growled, "I'm detaching you to Captain Nappa's command! He and his guards will be taking them to Lord Enma--you will escort them, and see that everyone stays out of trouble and in one piece!" 

Negi paled. "I'll be facing Lord Enma again?" 

Commander Kale smiled cruelly. "Very likely. Enjoy the trip!" With that, he turned on his heel and strode down the hall. 

"What a jerk!" Pomona observed as the Saiyan commander disappeared into the distance. 

Negi turned abruptly, snarling. "Shut up, woman! You've already caused enough trouble--keep your vulgar tongue to yourself! _Commander_ Kale is a commander, and of noble blood; _you're_ not even Saiyan!" The one-eyed warrior trembled with rage and something else; one hand was half-raised as if on the verge of striking. "Orders or no orders, if either of you says another disrespectful word, I'll.. I'll.." he trailed off. 

Pomona flinched back, surprised by his vehemence. Melchior smiled wryly. "Yeah, I guess that would be a problem. You can't very well kill us, can you?" 

The Saiyan warrior scowled, raising his fist again. "I can make you wish you could die!" 

The green-haired youth nodded gravely, "I do not doubt that. I was not mocking you, merely pointing out the.. oddities of the situation." 

Negi tossed his hair back, and smirked momentarily. "The 'oddities of the situation'. Yeah. That's a good one." He folded his arms and stared at the two colorfully-maned humans. "Now what the hell am I going to do with you two? You'll just start trouble if I put you back with the others." 

Pomona shrugged. "Well, your commander did order you to escort us--how about we just sort of tag along with you? We won't cause any trouble, will we, Melc?" 

Melchior shook his head. "Nah, I never cause trouble." He turned briefly away, to hide a smile. 

Negi scowled some more, then shrugged. "Hmmph. Might as well; things can't possibly get more screwed up! Come on!" The one-eyed Saiyan strode down the hall, then paused. "And keep your mouths shut when I report to Captain Nappa! I don't need to be embarrassed by a pair of ill-mannered humans!" 

Every time Negi thought he'd gotten used to Hell, it threw a new curve at him. Not only was he saddled with these two annoying humans, he would be facing Lord Enma again. Negi shivered involuntarily; no Saiyan in Hell--no _anyone_ in Hell--could remember Judgement with anything but terror. 

The only difference between Saiyans, as far as Negi could tell, was in how well they denied it. Negi shivered again; he couldn't. It was with him every instant, lurking in the background--the terror of that infinite moment when all illusions were ripped away and his own rotten, blood-stained soul stood revealed to himself and He Who Judged. Negi could not forget, no matter how much he wanted to, what a wretched excuse for a person he'd been, and what a damned waste of a life he'd led. He deserved to be where he was. 

He glanced back at the two humans. Poor bastards! They had no idea what awaited them--or maybe they would be lucky, and find themselves to be worthwhile, in spite of whatever sins were theirs. But that wouldn't be luck, would it? 

Negi's instincts told him they didn't belong here--he hoped his instincts were right. The boy was an interesting set of contradictions--all the pacifists Negi had ever run into had been easy victims, unwilling and unable to fight back, but this youth who claimed to be a pacifist fought back with admirable skill for a mere human, let alone one who "didn't like to fight". Negi's eyes narrowed; maybe it would be more correct to say that the boy didn't like to _start_ fights. Negi smirked to himself; the green-haired boy certainly liked to finish them with himself as the winner. 

As for the woman in black... _she_ certainly had no compunction about starting or finishing fights! Too bad his orders required him to interfere-- letting her carve off pieces of that weasel Kidoru wouldn't fit "keep the lost souls in one piece and see them safely to Lord Enma". What a pity! If only.. Negi thought wistfully, if only she and I were alive and she were a Saiyan... 

And she was right; Commander Kale was a jerk. 

*      *      *      *

"DIIIIEE!" Vegeta hurled a barrage of ki blasts at the hulking death god. Zorak Zoran dodged with a surprising agility for a creature of his bulk, an agility that reminded Vegeta unpleasantly of Doddoria. What he didn't dodge, he simply shrugged off, letting it explode against his bloody red armor. 

The monstrous god threw his head back and howled, swinging his huge, flaming leaden club with unbelievable swiftness and force. With equally unbelievable swiftness, Vegeta dodged; the blow split the earth beneath him, opening a deep chasm. 

Zorak Zoran wrapped his left hand loosely around the flaming club, and drew fire from it, forming a ball which he hurled suddenly at Vegeta--then several more fireballs in quick sucession. Vegeta dodged several; then, tiring of the game, simply flicked them away with a touch of his hand to explode in the distant hills. 

Again Vegeta drove in, raining a flurry of blows on the monster--impotent blows. The death god's massive armor and more massive body simply shrugged off Vegeta's strikes. The hulking monster howled again, and lashed out left and right with his club, blows which narrowly missed Vegeta, driving him back toward the chasm. Vegeta smirked; the monster was used to fighting on the ground, against opponents that couldn't fly! 

Vegeta leaped into the air-- 

\--and Zorak Zoran leaped forward, grabbing the Saiyan's leg. The monster roared and slammed Vegeta into the ground with the one hand; with his other hand, he smashed the club into the downed prince with bone-crushing force. Vegeta cried out in pain, and the monster laughed, raising his club in both hands for a second blow. 

*      *      *      *

Engrossed in his drawing, Sean did not hear the slow turning of his doorknob, nor the scratching as someone slipped a jimmy behind the bolt--but he did notice when Caleb tried to club him down from behind. 

"WHAT THE HELL?" Sean dove to one side, scattering his pencils and drawing on the floor. He rolled and came to his feet, looking across the couch at Caleb, both hands clenched in fists. Two other men had followed Caleb into his apartment; they laughed unpleasantly, circling around either end of the couch. 

Sean flipped his black hair out of his eyes, and eased himself back and to the left. The goon on that side raised his fists and lunged at Sean, fist swinging in a solid hook to Sean's chin. 

It never got there. Sean swept his left arm up, blocking the blow, and snap-kicked the goon in the shin with his steel-toed boot. The muscular thug yelled and stumbled, giving Sean his chance. He rushed the goon, throwing his own hard-muscled, six-foot-tall body against the burly man, knocking him sprawling. 

Caleb snarled, and leaped in front of the open door, cutting off Sean's escape. Sean recovered his balance and smiled coldly; he hadn't been trying to escape. He reached into the corner, behind the stereo speaker, and grabbed the axe handle he kept there. 

Anger seethed through Sean at this culmination of a thoroughly rotten month-- first losing his job, then the near-eviction from this roach motel, losing all his artwork, then the earthquake, and finally these creeps assaulting him in his own goddamn apartment! His cold smile turned into a snarling rictus--God, he wanted to hurt someone, and these bastards had just given him an excuse. 

"All right, you bastards, you want me--COME AND GET ME!" 

It was over in less than five minutes. Sean panted heavily, down on one knee, leaning on the axe handle. Blood trickled over his left eyebrow from a cut on his forehead; his lower lip was already swollen where he'd been hit. 

Sean thought that the one who'd run probably had several broken ribs or a ruptured spleen; he knew the man had a broken arm. Sean had broken it for him. He knew for sure that the other guy on the floor had broken ribs, a broken collarbone, and probably a busted skull; Sean was not sure if he was still breathing, and didn't care enough to check. His un-neighborly neighbor Caleb definitely wasn't breathing, but his blood and brains were making a mess of the carpet and his axe handle. 

The place was a mess. The brief but vicious fight had knocked over everything the earthquake had left standing, and everything he'd started picking up afterwards. Sean got to his feet painfully, cursing; even the painting had been a casualty of the fight. He picked up the broken stand, and straightened the bent legs as best he could, then gently picked up the painting and put it back on its stand. He frowned; someone had gotten blood on his painting! 

"Nice fight; nice work. That your painting?" 

Sean whirled. "Oh, crud." 

Behind him, leaning insouciantly against the doorway between his tiny studio and the so-called 'living' room was a demon from his painting--muscular, almost-human body, not-quite-human face, brown and green combat armor, katana, short white cloak, brown fur belt wrapped around his waist. As Sean stared, he felt that there was something not quite real about the demon, like something from a dream. Sean swallowed hard as he recognized this demon as the white-cloaked one kneeling before the demon king in the original version of his painting. 

Commander Kale smiled coldly at Sean; he'd found his quarry. 

*      *      *      *

Vegeta glared across the chasm at Zorak Zoran, breathing hard. He'd rolled at the last moment, tossing himself into the chasm, and jumped out the other side. The Darkness god roared at him across the gap, and backed up, tensing his legs. 

He's going to _jump_ the chasm! Vegeta realized. I was right; he can't fly! Even as he thought it, the death god ran forward and leaped-- 

\--Vegeta darted into the air, and plunged down, slamming his fist into the mad god's back as he hung in mid-jump. The force of the blow slammed Zorak Zoran into the depths of the chasm; Vegeta settled down on the other side, poised for the next move. 

His eyes widened as the massive creature jumped to his feet, bellowing and roaring. Foam spattered its jaws, and it _ran_ straight up the side of the chasm, booted toes kicking into the side of the rock in its rage to get at Vegeta. 

In answer, Vegeta's power blazed around him in a fury of white fire. Stone cracked, shattered, and blew away, disintegrated by the mere backwash of his power. He reached the screaming crescendo of his power just as the mad death god leaped over the edge of the chasm and charged, club raised, tongue lolling from froth-filled mouth. 

Fire, Light and Darkness exploded in a blinding flash and concussion that shattered the very hills around them. When the smoke cleared, Zorak Zoran still stood. Great gaping holes were torn in his armor; red blood streaked his coal black hide. The mighty barrel-shaped chest heaved with great gasping breaths, and the light of madness filled his eyes. He raised his club again. 

Vegeta also stood, gasping, his armor cracked and singed. His right arm moved slowly as he wiped away the blood trickling from his mouth, still half-numbed by the death god's blows. He grinned, the mad joy of battle dancing in his eyes. 

"You're one tough bastard," Vegeta snarled. "I'm going to enjoy finishing you off!" 

*      *      *      *

Deputy's wings flared as he alighted on a mountaintop near the quarry. Yes, this was far enough away; the Names which must be spoken would be heard by Deputy alone. He held his wings half-spread as he concentrated on the link between himself and Cacodemon. 

The great body tensed, leg muscles bunching as Deputy crouched, ready to spring and rend--only it was his mind that sprang, sprang into Cacodemon's, fighting to get the animalistic demon's attention. At last he began, still not sure if the tiny, maddened mind was even listening. 

<Cacodemon, Master, Spawn of Wakboth the Devil, fragment of itself. By your name, Cacodemon-Wakboth I command you, release this form! Disperse, and reform--you are not ready!>

*      *      *      *

The glowing red monstrosity howled again, and charged, but Goku and Piccolo could not hear it. 

"..-" Goku's hands cupped-- 

"..-" his body slipped into the familiar stance-- 

Piccolo put two fingers to his forehead, concentrating so hard the veins knotted in his green scalp-- 

"..-" Power gathered between Goku's curved fingers-- 

Piccolo's fingertips began to glow brightly-- 

"..-" Goku drew his hands back, the glow between his hands so brilliant it shined through his flesh-- 

Piccolo extended his arm full length-- 

"..!" The brilliant white sphere of a Kamehameha wave plunged down, straight toward the demon-- 

"..............!" A narrow shaft of energy, sheathed in a violet spiral of energy stabbed down into the demon as Piccolo fired his Makankosappo-- 

Once again, a second sun rose in the middle of the Western Capital; Goku and Piccolo shielded their eyes from the full fury of their own attacks. When it cleared, and they could see again, there was no sign of the gigantic demon. 

"..... .. .. ..?" Goku asked, looking puzzled. He shook his head, frowning; his face brightened as he remembered something. From the pouch at his belt, Goku plucked two senzu beans, and tossed one to Piccolo. 

"What happened, Piccolo? I can't sense him anywhere!" Goku asked as soon as their hearing returned. 

"It _appears_ that we destroyed him," Piccolo said slowly. "But you are right to question--that was too easy." 

Goku nodded. "My attack wasn't powerful enough to completely destroy something with that much power." 

"I have a feeling that we will hear of that monster again," said Piccolo ominously. "And we will not like what we hear." 

*      *      *      *

Vegeta crouched atop the rocky spire, looking down at Zorak Zoran, who bellowed up at him. All around, the landscape was shattered and melted from the fury of their battle. Wouldn't anything kill that creature? 

The death-god swung his club, shattering the base of the rocky spire. As it collapsed, Vegeta held out his one good hand-- 

"GYARICK-HO!" The brilliant, dense beam, capable of destroying a planet, lanced out, catching the darkness god squarely in the middle. His outline faded and seemed to dissolve in the blinding white fury-- 

SHRACKKK-KOOOMM! The ground exploded where the beam struck, smashing its way deep into the fabric of the Helldarks. Far, far below, the beam flashed and detonated; superheated steam geysered out of the new chasm. Vegeta settled to the ground, chest heaving--the last blast had taken almost everything he had. 

"Die!" Zorak Zoran rasped. 

*      *      *      *

It had been a long time since they'd fought together. Longer than mere years; it had been a lifetime ago. And yet, Bardock reflected as he waited for Toma and Celipa, it felt like yesterday. 

Yesterday.. the day they all died. The day Bardock tried to stop Frieza, to save the homeworld, to avenge his dead friends. The day he failed, failed them, failed his world, failed himself. The day Bardock and his world died. 

After the day, nightmare. At first, Bardock couldn't have said why he rebelled when he was cast into Hell; he only knew that he could not accept what fate had decreed--his pride and his rage would not let him. That's what he would have said then. 

Later.. he understood. His anger at Frieza's murder of his team and his people had very little to do with pride--it was the _injustice_ that ate at him. The Saiyans had served Frieza faithfully and well--and in return, their prince was taken, their king murdered, and finally, all of them exterminated in the blink of an eye. It was just plain _wrong_. 

It had taken longer to understand that his anger was not aimed purely at Frieza, but at whatever powers that had permitted this atrocity to happen. He had been cursed with foreknowledge, yet denied the ability to _do_ anything about it--that was the Kunassasei-jin's vengeance for the extinction of his race. A paltry vengeance; Bardock had not lived long enough to suffer from it. Those visions of Kakarott's future had given Bardock one last hope to take with him into death. 

It had seemed unjust to Bardock that he should have been given that glimpse of the future, given the chance to act on it, only to find out that all he'd done was futile. He'd given everything his broken, bleeding body had left to stop that damned frigid-blooded monstrosity--and it wasn't enough, it never would have been enough. Why? Why lead him into the last and greatest and finest battle of his life, the only battle he'd ever fought that was truly _right_ , only to lose it all? He could have accepted death, even damnation, if his death had _meant_ something! 

Last of all, Bardock finally understood the obvious.. it _was_ just. He and his people had died the same death they'd bestowed on so many others. How many brave warriors of those other dead races had fought desperately against the invading Saiyajin, sacrificing their lives in futile attempts to stop their extinction? How many of them had died asking "Why?" 

It was _just_ ; a merciless justice, as merciless as the Saiyans themselves had been. Bardock loved truth too much to deny it when it stared him in the face. 

"Hey, Bardock, you still with us?" 

Bardock started; he hadn't noticed Toma and Celipa's arrival. The tall, handsome Saiyan warrior and the short-haired Saiyan woman both looked at him with some concern. 

Toma frowned; Bardock brooding always disturbed him. Toma suspected that Bardock still blamed himself for his failure to avenge his team, still blamed himself for not being there to fight with them, no matter how many times Toma tried to convince him otherwise. 

Bardock sighed. "Unfortunately, yes." Realizing as he said it how that must sound, he gave them both a slight smile. "I keep expecting to wake from this nightmare someday..." 

"Don't we all?" Celipa asked tartly. 

"No," answered Toma slowly. "Too many of us have given up.." 

"Saiyajin _giving up_??" Celipa's eyebrows went up; she was appalled. 

"We were not made for this kind of fight," Toma explained. "This is a battle of spirit, of heart--something we were never meant for. A battle we don't even know how to win."   
  
---  
  
"Yes." Bardock answered simply. "Toma is right. Yet.." He looked off into the distance, at the lurid, broken landscape, "..something in my heart tells me there _is_ a way to win this war, and sometimes I feel like I'm on the very edge of discovering it." 

"What makes you think Saiyajin can win? You know what we are!" 

Bardock smiled at them. "Kakarott won his war. As did Diive and Rashi." His voice dropped, and he said very softly, "So did Kinoko." 

He glanced at the horizon, and back at them; Totepo and Panboukin had just arrived. The team was complete. "Let's go. No more time for this; there's a job that needs doing." 

*      *      *      *

"I don't believe this!" Vegeta snarled in exasperation. He stared at the monstrous death god. 

Zorak Zoran swayed, barely on his feet. Scraps and tatters of charred flesh hung down here and there. Torn and burnt muscles barely clung to his bones; gaping wounds showed blackened internal organs beneath. His skull was nearly bare of flesh; both eyes were but burnt and empty sockets. His armor was completely blown away; only rags of living darkness still cloaked him. 

"I don't believe this!" Vegeta repeated. "Indrajit was in better shape than you after I defeated him! What does it take to kill you?" 

"Death," croaked Zorak Zoran as he raised his club. Fire billowed and roared around the mystic weapon. Then the monster charged. 

I don't have another beam like that left. Unless.. the last peach! Weary, distracted, Vegeta dodged the mad god's weapon--straight into his mighty fist. 

"URK!" Vegeta doubled up, Zorak Zoran's seared fist buried in his stomach. Time slowed down as Vegeta watched the Darkness god reverse his swing, and slam the butt end of his club into the side of Vegeta's head. 

WHAM! Vegeta was flung to the ground by the force of the blow. He blinked, trying to clear his eyes of blurriness, tried to roll away from the next blow. 

The death god roared and stomped on Vegeta's stomach; the Saiyan prince screamed in agony. Zorak Zoran raised his club for the final blow. Vegeta raised his left arm to block the blow, an instinctive, futile gesture. 

Of its own accord, his frozen, dead left hand opened, and caught the flaming head of the death god's club. The flame guttered and died; the club frosted over, and the icy cold of Hati's bite left Vegeta's hand at last! 

"HAI-YAAAAA!" Vegeta lunged up, plunging his right hand deep into Zorak Zoran's exposed chest. He seized the monster's heart, captured the essence of its being-- 

Knowledge and ravening, furious power washed over him, through him. Prince Vegeta knew Zorak Zoran for what he was: ancient god of a time now dead, master of Death and Darkness, Thief of Fire, wargod of the Uz--the Men of Darkness--implacable enemy of Light and _Chaos_! 

Knowledge Vegeta took, and something else--something hard and cold and utterly uncompromising, something that had long been a part of him. He took Death. 

Without a backward glance he rose into the air, leaving the maimed god behind on the Hill of Gold. In time, Vegeta's stolen knowledge told him, the wargod's sister Xiola Umbar would find him and heal him as she had healed Prince Vegeta, and Zorak Zoran would again stalk through the infinite darkness, hunting Light and Chaos with merciless fury. He smirked at what else his new-found knowledge told him: in this place, Zorak Zoran ambushed the Lightson, the Son of the Sun, and stole Fire from him in the endless, eternally recurring cycle of the Godtime. 

"Only you failed in your ambush this time, didn't you?" Vegeta laughed mockingly as he sped away. 

Over the endless grey hills of the Helldarks he flew, toward the Chaos Hells, where chaos gnawed at the foundations of the universe, and reality fell apart. With his new knowledge, the Saiyan prince knew that there, on the edge of annihilation, he would find the secret he needed--and then let the gods of Chaos tremble! 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XXV. THE RECKONING


	26. XXV. The Reckoning

## XXV. THE RECKONING

<SCOUT! Begin the ritual--summon one of the Talons!> Enforcer commanded in the little demon-dinosaur's mind. 

The yellow winged-raptor-thing scurried to obey, dropping the unconscious Goten at the foot of the altar beside Trunks and Bulma. It bowed to the great shadow-demon Enforcer, and took up position behind the altar, moving its claws in a brief series of gestures as it focussed its power. The air above the altar began to curdle and warp. 

Enforcer swung his massive head this way and that, looking things over. "Sorceror, begin with the child Trunks." 

Voron bowed. "As you command, Lord Keikan-Ma." The slightly singed sorceror turned to the nervous crowd. "You, and you and you! Get up here!" 

"GOTEN IS MINE!" snarled Deputy, dropping out of the night on silent wings into the middle of the crowd. Vicious killers and rapists and madmen scattered in every direction--save for one who had been unfortunate enough to be directly under Deputy's hind claws. "BRING HIM TO ME!" The great demon's razor-clawed hands flexed open and closed, acid slime dripping from the claws. Deputy licked his lips with his barbed tongue. 

Enforcer reached down--and the unconscious boy jumped up and ran! 

"No you don't!" yelled Goten as he dodged clutching hands. Two thugs dove for him, missed, and wound up butting heads as Goten slipped between them. 

Deputy howled in rage and disbelief as Goten evaded Enforcer, his followers, and even Scout in turn. The small boy darted toward the empty part of the quarry-- 

Deputy snapped his wings and leaped across the quarry; his supple tail lashed out and sent the small boy tumbling. Goten rolled to a stop against a huge, cracked marble slab; Deputy alighted beside him, and pinned the boy with one taloned foot. His great head lowered, and he turned to glare at his followers, looking like nothing so much as a great bird of prey, preparing to tear at some small, helpless animal caught in its talons. 

Crushed under the demon's foot, Goten couldn't even scream for help; tears trickled from his eyes. 

"FOOLS!" Deputy snarled, red eyes blazing. "WATCH--SEE HOW I WILL DO UNTO THOSE WHO FAIL ME!" He turned back to the helpless boy, and bared jagged teeth--- 

KRUNCH! A blazing comet of white fire plunged down from the heavens and slammed into Deputy's back, knocking the great demon sprawling--and off of Goten. 

"GOTEN! RUN! GET OUT OF HERE, FAST!" Raditz shouted as he gathered a ball of energy in his hand and hurled it into Deputy's face. His black and white combat armor gleamed in the light of his attack. 

BOOOM! Deputy was knocked over again; as the smoke cleared, he could be seen shaking his dog-like head as if to clear it. Smoke curled up from various spots on his fur. 

Dazed and bruised, Goten struggled to his feet, and stumbled toward the nearest cover, the cracked marble slab. "Nunk Rats!" he said happily. 

As Goten crawled under the slab, Raditz cut loose with a dozen ki balls in rapid succession, battering and staggering Deputy. Deputy roared and shook himself; gathering his powerful hindlegs under him, Deputy leaped into the air into the teeth of Raditz's attack. 

"Whoa!" Raditz darted up, out of the way as Deputy's massive jaws crashed shut less than a foot from his legs had been. The demon's great wings rowed the air as he rose, pursuing Raditz. 

"I should have made sure you were dead--this time I will!" snarled Deputy. "I will rip you apart and feast on your entrails; I will devour your heart and your head; I will-- ARRRGGGHHHH!" 

KA-ZAAPPP! A pinpoint blast to Deputy's right eye interrupted the monster's rant; Raditz smirked as the demon roared in pain, blood running from the blasted eye. 

"First," Raditz growled, "you have to kill me--" He grinned fiercely, "--and you already blew your one chance to do that!" 

In reply, Deputy opened his jaws and vomited fire. 

*      *      *      *

Bulma blinked, astonished. Voron and his men stood as if paralyzed, entranced by the fight, Trunks forgotten. Even the big shadow monster, Enforcer, was similarly engaged. 

"I thought that monster said he killed Raditz," Bulma muttered. "Boy, was he wrong!" She wriggled, trying to loosen the ropes around her feet and wrists. 

"Good thing, too. I'd hate to think of that long-haired hunk being demon-chow," the dark-skinned demon-girl said unexpectedly.. with Sinhika's voice. 

Bulma turned her head; the orange-haired girl was conscious, though battered, burned and tied up like Bulma. Bulma's eyes opened wide-- "You're Sinhika! Er, what are you?" 

Sinhika raised an eyebrow, then looked down at herself. "Oops. Must have lost the illusions when big ugly hit me," she muttered. "Come to think of it, I remember hitting the ground--I don't remember being tied up and dragged over here." Her face shimmered, and Bulma found herself looking at the pretty young Indian girl she'd hired. 

"A nightmare. This is all a dream you're having, you know." 

Bulma snarled something impolite. "Don't even try to pretend--I never had a nightmare give me this many bruises!" 

Sinhika shrugged. "Well, it was worth a try. Let's just say that what you saw is 'the real me', but I wear this face in public--fewer hassles at job interviews, getting waited on at restaurants, shopping in upscale malls..." She smiled mischieviously, and wriggled closer to Bulma. "My face isn't the only real thing I hide. Here. See if you can reach the small of my back..." 

Bulma rolled over and felt along Sinhika's back with her bound hands. Her fingers brushed something hard just above her waist.. Back a bit.. Yes! Bulma's hand closed on the hilt of a knife. 

*      *      *      *

Raditz held out one hand, fending off Deputy's blast of fire, grinning fiercely the whole time. His renewed energy seethed through him, heightening his senses, his speed, his strength. His armor's bodysuit hugged him like a second skin; the scouter rested comfortably over his right eye like an old friend. The joy of battle sang in his blood, and the prospect of vengeance sweetened his joy. 

He couldn't read Deputy's power through the scouter, but that didn't matter. Raditz could see the monster before him, and he had taken Deputy's measure before. 

"HAIIIII-YA! YA!" Raditz hurled two brilliant-white ki beams at Deputy, one after the other. The demon canted his head, fending them both off with a flick of his hand. 

"FOOL! You have learned nothing--did you think you could hurt me with such a feeble attack now, when you could not before?" 

Raditz just grinned, and darted down to smash the root of Deputy's left wing with a double-handed blow. The monster shuddered, and whipped his tail up as he rolled to face Raditz. 

Raditz dodged the supple tail--he _had_ learned. The demon shrugged off his blow, and lashed out with his claws-- 

The saiyan warrior dodged with a mocking laugh, then bodyslammed Deputy's lower jaw, rocking the demon, disorienting it and leaving it flailing in mid-air. 

Deputy howled with rage, and snapped his wings hard as he flew in pursuit of Raditz; the long-haired warrior rocketed high into the sky. Deputy's jaws gaped wide, and he vomited fire again. 

"Don't you ever learn?" Raditz smirked as he hurled a countering beam down into the demon's mouth. The Saiyan's beam collided with Deputy's fire; the two beams contended, striving, splashing off each other in perfect balance. Raditz's smirk deepened into a grin; his beam intensified, and smashed down the length of Deputy's fire blast to explode in the demon's face. 

BOOM! Once again Raditz heard Deputy's harsh yowl, a sound like metal being ripped apart. When the smoke cleared, Deputy could be seen clawing at his burnt and smoking mouth--the monster coughed, and greyish slime drooled from the injured orifice. The monster growled at Raditz, then folded its wings and dropped like a stone... 

*      *      *      *

Goku frowned, then his face brightened. "There he is!" He put two fingers to his forehead-- and froze. 

"What is it, Son Goku?" Piccolo asked, slightly concerned by Goku's odd behavior. 

"Raditz. He keeps flickering--first he's there, then he's not. I can't use Shikan Idou if he disappears while I'm halfway there!" 

"I couldn't sense the demon he fought, either," Piccolo muttered, a dark expression on his face. 

"And I couldn't sense the demon that tried to kidnap Chi-chi and Goten!" Goku's brow furrowed. "I don't like this! At least I know where he was." White fire flared around him, and Goku hurtled through the sky toward distant Satan City, Piccolo close behind. 

*      *      *      *

Deputy's wings flared at the last instant, just before the great demon hit the quarry floor. His powerful hindlegs bent, absorbing the shock of landing. A heartbeat's pause, and Deputy's tail lashed out, hooking the cracked marble slab concealing Goten and hurling it end-for-end across the quarry. 

Goten trembled, paralyzed by the sudden disappearance of his hiding place. Deputy grinned, and reached down to pluck up the hapless child-- 

\--Only to snatch at empty air as Goten vanished, whisked away faster than Deputy could see. The chaos demon screeched with rage, and leaped into the sky again, wings flapping madly as he searched for the elusive Raditz. 

"Looking for me?" A streaking comet stopped and became Raditz; and Raditz grinned as power smouldered in both hands. 

"DIE!" The infuriated demon dove, and then climbed to pursue the rising Saiyan; poisoned teeth clashed shut inches from his boots. Raditz just kept grinning, and flying ever higher... 

*      *      *      *

"Well, let's see what we've got here," Nezumi said to herself as she kicked in the door of the small shed. Raditz had literally dropped her at the edge of the quarry pit just before he plunged into the fight; after picking herself up, brushing off the dirt and feeling some new bruises, Nezumi decided to scout around. 

It hadn't taken her long to notice that all the vehicles were down in the pit, where the bonfire-lit festivities seemed to be taking place. Up on the rim of the quarry was an assortment of buildings and sheds; Nezumi picked the nearest one to investigate. 

Her flashlight had somehow survived the night's adventures; she shined it around the dusty building. Boxes, lots of crates--none of them the least bit dusty. 

"Very interesting!" Nezumi looked around and found a prybar, and started doing some serious investigation. As the top came off of the first crate, she looked in. What she saw caused her to catch her breath for a long moment, then she whistled. 

"My, my, my; someone is up to something naughty." Nezumi very gently lifted out one of twenty disposable anti-tank rockets in the crate. "This could come in handy." 

*      *      *      *

"Quick! Scootch up under the altar with me, and see if you can cut my ropes," Sinhika instructed Bulma. 

"Okaaay, but won't they stop us?" Bulma queried as she wriggled up to Sinhika's back again. She bit her lip to stifle a cry as she bumped her head on the altar. 

As if in answer, something growled above; shouts were heard; Voron and the remaining broo ran _past_ where they were laying-- 

"Find them, you fools! They can't have gone very far, they're all tied up!" Voron's voice cracked, hoarse with fear. 

Sinhika chuckled. "They can't stop what they don't see!" She smiled wickedly. "Hurry up, though--one of them could stumble over the boy by accident." 

Bulma nodded, though still confused, and worked carefully with her bound hands to cut Sinhika's ropes and not the girl's wrists. "Does this have something to do with the way your face changes when you're unconscious?" 

"Something like that. People see what I want them to see." 

*      *      *      *

In Hell, in the Pit of Worms, a huge form crouched atop a narrow spindle of rock, watching the murk above the canyon's floor. Bestial eyes narrowed; clawed fingers twitched eagerly as the murk curdled and twisted. 

Another rift was opening, and the Captain of Ragnaglar was ready. 

*      *      *      *

Raditz rose, energy seething in both hands. He grinned hellishly as Deputy pursued him, half mad with rage. 

"MAN--" Raditz brought his hands forward-- "KI--" and together-- "BATSU!" The two seething balls of energy fused with a blinding white flash, and a huge white beam, tinged with incandescent violet slammed down toward the angry demon. 

Deputy jerked to one side, dodging frantically; Raditz laughed cruelly as his beam curved to follow, blasting into the demon's side and out the other side. Blackened ribs jutted upward as Deputy fell from the sky, half of his midsection blown away, the rest of it a seared ruin. Raditz dove after him, hurling blast after blast at the horribly wounded demon, burning away chunks of chaotic flesh. 

Deputy crashed into the quarry, falling on the wide ledge of one of the upper levels of the excavation. It did not move. 

Raditz hovered above, waiting and gasping for breath, too tired to hurl another blast. Was it enough? Had he damaged the creature beyond healing? And what were the other demons doing? 

*      *      *      *

<PICCOLO!> Gohan's thoughts shrieked in the Namek's head as he flew in fast pursuit of Goku. 

<What is it, kid?> The overtone of fear in Gohan's thought worried Piccolo. 

<Tell Dad--Goten's disappeared! I'm coming up to join you, we've got to find him, too!>

"Goku!" 

Goku slowed, and turned to face Piccolo. "What is it?" he asked cheerily. His face turned to concern as Piccolo told Goku what Gohan had passed to him. 

"Chi-chi is probably crazy with worry," the world's most powerful hero said. "I should stop and tell her I'm looking for Goten, too." 

"Gohan already did," Piccolo said. 

Another streak of fire rose from the ground as Gohan darted up to join his father and his sensei in their journey to the gates of Hell. 

*      *      *      *

Scout looked up, his task complete; the void was ready for a sacrifice. What was all the fuss? Oh. The special victims and the sacrifice had all vanished. The raptor-demon flared its nostrils; too many smells, but the woman Bulma and the boy Trunks were still nearby, he was sure of that. Didn't the Defender-of-Temples who had plagued Enforcer have the power of invisibility? Hmm... 

<Lord Enforcer!>

<What?> growled the larger demon through their mental link. 

<The sacrifice is invisible--but doubtless still bound. She must be nearby, great one.>

A wordless growl of acknowledgement echoed in Scout's head. Enforcer swung his head this way and that, baring his shark-teeth; yes, he could smell the spicy tang of the Defender-of-Temples, and the rich sweetness of the others. They were here. 

"Sorceror! They are invisible! Feel on your hands and knees if you can do no better, but FIND THEM!" Enforcer snarled. 

*      *      *      *

Sinhika's bonds parted, and she rolled around, taking the knife from Bulma. With two deft slashes, she freed her feet and Bulma's hands, only to be interrupted by the antelope-horned broo groping about under the altar. 

"Don't move!" Sinhika hissed at Bulma. "Don't scream, don't do anything. They won't see, feel or hear anything I don't want them to, but you've got to keep still and not do anything surprising to me--even an idiot like Voron will figure something's up if the ground gets up and runs screaming away!" 

Bulma nodded, and froze as the broo crawled over her. His hands roamed over her body, and she couldn't help shuddering as the beastman patted her breasts and face before crawling on. She bit back a cry as the broo planted a knee in her stomach as it moved off of her and onto Sinhika. 

Sinhika wrinkled her nose in disgust, but did not move as the bestial demon crawled blindly over her, fondling her thighs and nearly poking a finger in her left eye in passing. 

"Yecch!" she muttered. It was nearly their undoing. Distracted by the broo, Sinhika did not see Enforcer's massive foot come down on Trunks' leg-- 

"AAAAAHHHH!" Trunks' scream got everyone's attention; Enforcer growled something, and a sickly green corona sprang from the altar, the ground and other unmoving objects nearby. Sinhika went white, biting her lip hard as something battered her will, breaking the illusion-- 

Only for a moment, but long enough for Enforcer to see Trunks and pluck him up, as a child casually plucks up a dandelion. Enforcer growled with anticipation-- 

WHAAM! Something slammed into the great shadow demon's left knee, shattering it, and it stumbled, dropping Trunks as it collapsed to one knee. Raditz hovered above the monster, snarling; then he dove, driving a double-handed blow into the top of Enforcer's skull. 

"Oh, crap!" Voron dove out of the way as Enforcer crashed headlong, stumbled, picked himself up and kept running. 

"Here! That bastard's mine!" Sinhika shoved knife hilt-first into Bulma's hands, and sped after Voron, flying barely chest-high across the ground. Bulma tumbled over the altar, throwing herself across Trunks semi-conscious body-- 

Only to strike the ground hard, knocking the breath out of her. Someone had snatched Trunks out from under her as she fell; Bulma looked up-- 

The dinosaur-demon Scout tittered at her, and flew away with fast beats of its narrow wings, Trunks cradled in its skinny arms. Something grabbed Bulma around the waist and lifted her up-- 

"EEEEEEEE!" Bulma screamed in pure terror as the ground receded-- 

"Damn it, woman! Stop trying to burst my eardrums!" Raditz's familiar voice growled. "Here," he dropped Bulma on an upper-level ramp next to a puzzled Goten, "sit there and stay out of trouble! I've got some demons to kill!" With a flash of light and rush of air, he was gone again. 

Goten blinked at her. "Nan Bulma okay?" As she sat there in silent shock, the little boy ran up and hugged her. 

"I think," she said a bit shakily, "I'm okay." Bulma hugged the little boy back, and sighed, patting her nightshirt down. Somehow the short dress-like garment had survived the night's ordeals reasonably intact, if filthy. "Am I glad I wasn't wearing one of my negligees!" 

*      *      *      *

Raditz hurtled across the quarry toward Scout; the demon dinosaur looked behind, turning his head on his long supple neck. It screeched, and flung its wings wide as Raditz closed; in a sudden move, it flung Trunks down into the pit, and flitted away in another direction. 

"DAMN YOU!" Raditz dove, catching the half-conscious boy just before he hit the quarry floor. Back again, and Trunks was deposited gently at his mother's feet. Raditz flashed away before Bulma could do more than open her mouth. 

"Now," growled Raditz, "there's no one I want alive in the way." He grinned, watching Enforcer crawl to one knee-- 

"WHAT THE--?" A bolt of fire streaked from the rim of the quarry, striking the great shadow demon full in the chest-- 

BOOOOM! The demon exploded; when the smoke cleared, Enforcer was sprawled across the altar, a huge hole blasted through his torso--much like his parent demon Deputy. What was left of the shadow demon twitched feebly. 

Raditz's head snapped around. That bolt came from where he'd left Nezumi! In a streak of white fire he was there, hovering above the rim of the quarry--it was Nezumi! 

The Capsule Corp security guard grinned jauntily up at him as she hoisted a second rocket launcher. "I know you said to leave the fighting to you, but I couldn't resist the fun! Especially when someone left all these naughty toys lying around!" 

Raditz tossed his hair back, and grinned. Gods! He was definitely beginning to appreciate these Earth women! "Just stay out of reach of the big guys--I don't need to be rescuing you, too." he growled. 

Nezumi smirked as she flipped up the sight on the new launcher and lined it up on her target. "Mrs. O'Neill didn't raise any stupid kids, Raditz! Think the big guy will go down as easy as the shadow oni did?" 

"The big guy?" Raditz paled and whirled, looking back into the quarry. 

Deputy arose like a phoenix, wings spread, newly healed flesh glistening with slime. He giggled as the mighty legs tensed, then pushed off, rising into the air with slow flaps of his great wings, flying with deliberate leisure toward the ledge where Bulma, Trunks and Goten waited. 

"Oh, crap!" the long-haired Saiyan glanced back at Nezumi. "Don't try it, he's too tough, and you do NOT want to draw his attention! Keep the other bastard down--he heals fast." 

Raditz zoomed down, slamming hard into Deputy's right wing joint. The bone buckled, forcing Deputy to land awkwardly on the nearest ledge. The demon hissed at Raditz. 

"Fool! You cannot kill me--wound me, and I will heal, my strength ever-renewed by Chaos! You," it snarled as it stalked back and forth on the ledge, watching Raditz while its wing unbuckled, the bones setting themselves and knitting as the warrior watched, "you are weak from fighting me. How long before you tire? How long before I taste your blood?" 

Two more streaks of fire slashed down from the rim of the quarry into the pit. 

"Let's see you heal from dust and ashes!" Raditz growled. 

Brave talk, but not likely to happen, he worried to himself. My options are pretty limited. I can't go Ouzaru here--it's too confined; I'm as likely to kill Bulma, Nezumi or Sinhika in my rampage as the demons. If I could have destroyed him with my normal strength, I would have already--I dumped most of my power I had into finishing him off. After last time, I knew he could regenerate--that's why I hung onto enough energy to fly and fight a bit. But now what? There's only one real possiblity left... 

*      *      *      *

Voron screamed as Sinhika descended on him, claws extended. For the first and last time in his life, he saw her as she really was. 

A minute later, Sinhika retrieved the rest of her blades from Voron's bloody corpse, and wiped them off on the liner of his trench coat. Two blanks of spring steel, forged into a pair of short swords with wire-wrapped hilts--Sinhika was proud of her handiwork--Industrial Age swords. 

"Now, where'd that little demon go? And Bulma, for that matter?" 

*      *      *      *

Later, back in Satan City, Sean had his own questions... 

"What do you want?" Sean asked, scared and angry. His hand crept toward the axe handle leaning against the wall. 

"I want the artist who painted _that_ ," the white-cloaked demon indicated. 

"I don't know who you're talking about," Sean said defiantly, his black hair drooping into his eyes again. "Why do want this guy, anyway?" 

The demon snarled. "Idiot! Do I look like a fool to you?" He waved his hand, and Sean's paints and brushes lept from the floor to crash against the wall. "Is the artist you, or your companion?" 

"My companion?" Sean stared blankly at the spiky-haired demon, then he noticed Sinhika's jacket still tossed over the back of his couch, behind the demon. Oh crud, Sean thought to himself, he thinks Sinhika lives here and might be the artist! 

Sean's muscles tensed, "I'm the artist. What do you want?" 

The demon smirked. "You." 

Before Sean could move, he found himself slammed against the wall and held there in a grip of iron, the demon's hand against his throat. The demon brought his face close to Sean's. 

"You made quite a nuisance of yourself, opening this gate into Hell--a gate that should not exist! Such things are forbidden! I'm here to make sure this gate gets closed, and never re-opened--too bad there's only one way to do that," he sneered. 

"Urk!" was all Sean could say with the hand around his throat. He grabbed at the being's wrists, intending to pry them loose-- to his horror, all he grabbed was thin air. The goth artist brought his knee up, aiming for the primary target--and hit nothing at all. 

The demonic warrior scowled, and Sean found himself crashing into the opposite wall after being thrown across the room. 

"Uhhhhnnn." He picked himself up painfully. "You're not real!" 

"Real enough for you. We're spirits from Hell, what did you expect? Flesh and blood is the prerogative of the living." An odd bitterness twisted the hell-warrior's voice. 

Sean wiped his mouth, and stared at the blood on his hand for a moment. "Wonderful." His voice was flat. "I'm about to be murdered by a poltergeist from Hell who doesn't like my art." 

"No," said the demon commander. "You're about to be _executed_ ; you'd already be dead if this were just a killing." He picked up Sean and held him at arm's length, casually. "As such, there are certain formalities--that's why I bothered to tell you all this, instead of just snapping your neck." 

"Can't you just take my word that I'll never paint again?" To his horror and shame, Sean realized he was pleading for his life. 

The demon commander smirked again. "Haven't you painted pictures like this before?" 

The look on Sean's face was all the answer the demon commander needed. 

"As long as you live, you could open a gate like this one again--a forbidden doorway! I'm solving that problem right now!" 

Kale's hand closed around Sean's throat.. 

*      *      *      *

Sometime earlier, at the quarry, Deputy stretched his wings and yawned lazily. He pushed off from the ledge, and with a snap of his wings was airborne once again. 

"Enough of this!" Deputy yawned again, and belched fire--not at Raditz, but across the quarry toward Bulma and the kids! Raditz's eyes widened, and he dove in front of the blast, deflecting it away with one swift blow. The long-maned Saiyan warrior gasped for breath afterwards. 

Only one possibility left--little brother, I hoped I learned well what you tried to teach me, or this will kill me faster than that monster! Focus... 

"KAI-O KEN!" 

Red flame enveloped Raditz as his power exploded around him, doubled and restored. The whole quarry shook as the red power seethed around him; marble dust filled the air; marble splintered and fell from the quarry walls. 

"WHAT?" Deputy's blazing scarlet eyes widened; the demon drove at Raditz, teeth bared and claws outstretched. 

Raditz disappeared; the next thing Deputy felt was a massive blow to the back of his skull, breaking his spine and crushing his brainstem. Paralyzed, the great demon fell, crashing into the middle of the pit atop his panicking followers. 

"MAN-KI-BATSU!" Once again, the fearsome violet-edged beam smashed down, obliterating Deputy's head and chest, exploding in a shower of fire and shrapnel-like marble shards. As the smoke cleared, Raditz hurled blast after blast into the shredded remnants of the great demon's body. 

Raditz descended to hover just above the fallen demon. Behind him, a pickup truck sped up the quarry ramps, taking corners on two wheels as someone tried desperately to escape the carnage below. Another streak of fire darted from the rim of the quarry, and the truck exploded in a ball of gasoline-fueled fire. 

Grinning fiercely, Raditz held one hand out, palm flat. "BURNING ATTACK!" A great plume of fire flared out to envelope what was left of Deputy. 

*      *      *      *

Sinhika hovered over the rim of the quarry. Where was that other demon? He had a talent for hiding--there! 

Scout flitted and hopped from level to level, his gleaming white hide blending in with the marble walls, his path aiming him steadily at Bulma and the children. 

"Oh no you don't!" snarled Sinhika as she darted down toward the speedy demon. It was nearly on them when she caught up with the winged raptor and slashed across its back-- 

\--and missed. Scout dodged with the preternatural speed that was his trademark, whipping his tail back and across Sinhika's face. She reeled back for a moment, blood running from her broken nose--time enough for Scout to dive and grab a child in each arm. 

Bulma shrieked and grabbed for the demon's leg as it flew off--too slow; she missed and fell screaming into the pit below. Sinhika hurtled downward, grabbing Bulma's arm with her left hand. For a moment, they hung there in mid-air, Bulma shaking uncontrollably, Sinhika breathing hard. 

"You can fly, too," Bulma said, amazed. 

"All my kind can," Sinhika answered. She gently set Bulma down on the nearest ledge. "Wait here, I've got to stop that thing!" 

"Hey!" Bulma yelped in surprise as the orange-haired demon girl vanished from sight. Then she saw the dinosaur-demon--it headed unerringly for the churning void over the altar, Trunks and Goten clutched in its arms. "Oh, no!" Bulma moaned, terror nearly freezing her tongue. 

"RADITZ! Stop him!" she finally screamed. 

*      *      *      *

Raditz smirked as the greasy remnants of Deputy smoked and burned--then Bulma's frantic scream reached his ears. His eyes widened in horror, and he hurtled toward the demon Scout with all his speed. As he flew, Raditz flung a single blast ahead of him, aiming at the churning void. 

Deflected by the twisted reality around the void, his beam struck the blood-stained altar, shattering it into a thousand shards of marble rubble. The void still churned, hovering over the smoking crater. 

*      *      *      *

"Piccolo! Gohan!" Goku yelped, "I can sense Raditz now! See you there!" He put two fingers to his forehead, and vanished in a streak of light. 

"Dad!" Gohan yelled with dismay, "Where is he?" 

"Don't worry, Gohan!" Piccolo yelled back, "I can sense him, too. It's not far!" 

*      *      *      *

Blazing steel slashed out of thin air, biting deep into Scout's left wing. Scout screeched and rolled over on his back, lashing up with the great gutting claw that was the heritage of his demon-raptor form. There was a brief cry, and Sinhika appeared, plummeting toward the ground, She hit with a thud, and lay with both arms wrapped around her stomach. Blood poured over her fingers. 

The wounded demon windmilled awkwardly to the ground near the shrieking void, one wing dangling useless. Trunks hung limply from under one arm, still only half-conscious; Goten wiggled and yelled, but could not free himself from the demon's grip. Scout hopped closer to the void. 

"KAIO-KEN TIMES TWO!" Red fire cloaked Raditz as he shot across the quarry-- one hand grabbed the dinosaur-demon's tail-- 

\--A sudden flicker as Goku appeared above the battlefield-- 

\--With a sudden effort, Scout threw Trunks and Goten toward the void, even as Raditz's other hand came slashing down, shattering Scout's spine and tearing into the dinosaur-demon's heart. 

"NOOOOOOO!" Raditz wrenched his gory hand loose from Scout's back and lunged for Goten and Trunks as they plunged into the shrieking void-- 

\--and vanished with the void. Raditz plunged through the empty air where the void had been, and crashed hard into the back wall of the quarry pit. Silence fell like darkness at the flick of a switch, like a knife into Raditz's heart. The void was gone. Trunks was gone. Goten was gone. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XXVI. EDGE OF ANNIHILATION


	27. XXVI. Edge of Annihilation

## XXVI. EDGE OF ANNIHILATION

Vegeta swooped low over the broken hills, hurtling toward the dark border beyond. He swerved abruptly; he'd already learned to avoid the things that hung like puffs of lace in the sky. The Saiyan prince couldn't have said what they _were_ , but they weren't clouds. Clouds didn't wrap lacy tendrils covered with acid around one's body and try to devour it, and clouds didn't reek of that particular foulness Vegeta knew too well from Cacodemon and his broo. 

The stolen knowledge in the back of Vegeta's mind whispered "sky gorp", but Vegeta ignored it. It was just a label, it didn't tell him much. There were other labels from Zorak Zoran's knowledge--the dark god had a label for everything, and a response to go with each label. Apparently the mad god didn't think much--he just assigned a label to something, and reacted, like some programmed android. Vegeta had been tagged with the label "sky/sun god", with the stock reaction "kill from ambush"--so much for labels. 

Hmmm.. Vegeta considered the power he had stolen from the dark god--a cold, familiar power that sliced soul from body, leaving a lifeless shell behind. The Death rune, the dark god's knowledge labeled it. Hadn't he always held that power? 

Vegeta looked within; what other powers that were already his did this eldritch place give name and form? The furious power that was his heritage, the fire that burned within--yes. The rune of Fire. And the other power that was his heritage, the heritage of every Saiyan under a full moon? The Beast rune. And arching over and behind them all, tying them together--the rune of Mastery. 

|  |  |   
---|---|---|---  
  
It still seemed that something was missing, but Vegeta couldn't quite determine what that element was. Bah! It mattered not--only one thing mattered, and that was the key to Cacodemon's destruction! Somewhere in the depths of Chaotic Hell, where Chaos seeped in and gnawed at the foundations of the universe, the Prince of the Saiyajin would find the bearer of that key, and take it for his own. 

Mottled, partly luminous vegetation shrouded the broken, twisted hills now--some branched and filigreed fungus that almost looked like trees; the foul sky gorp were clustering now, forcing Vegeta to fly lower to avoid them or detour widely around them. He chose to fly lower, toward the dark border still in the distance. 

Things scuttled and crawled in the phosporescent forest; Vegeta ignored them--their powers were too weak to be the ones he sought. Occasionally he would sense a foulness that reminded him of the great Chaos demon he meant to destroy; those the Saiyan prince did not ignore, but tossed a single destructive blast at as he passed. This happened less and less as he flew, because the land itself became increasingly tainted with foulness, overwhelming any sense of lesser individuals. 

He passed over a great black river that tumbled white over rocks and the broken bones of gods; there was no foulness here--the river washed it all clean as it headed for the dark shore in the distance. The river looped and turned; Vegeta flew straight, cutting the curves and heading for the sea. A strange shore greeted his night-canny eyes; a barren beach ringed by bleak, twisted cliffs, lapped by a sluggish, viscid sea. The sense of foulness nearly overwhelmed him as he hovered over the barren seascape. Nothing moved, save the waves as they slapped the etched, seared rocks. 

A strange uneasiness settled over Vegeta; there was something _wrong_ , very wrong about this place. He noted details; the rocks that were etched and half-melted as if by some powerful acid, the strange _sucking_ noise the waves made as they slithered back into the sea, the barren sand on which nothing moved, not crab nor sand louse nor shorebird, the trees on the cliffs above that moved with no wind... 

" _Nani_?" Beneath him, a wave stood still and bulged upward-- 

" _KUSO_!" Vegeta dodged upwards, surrounded by the white flame of his power as a huge slimy pseudopod exploded upward from the "sea", groped blindly through the air where he'd been, and then crashed back into the "sea" with a wet "plop". 

The Saiyan prince's eyes widened. "That's not the sea!" What he'd taken for the sea was an immensely huge protoplasmic _thing_ , a monstrous basin of acidic slime endowed by Chaos with hideous life. "Gorp," he muttered, applying Zorak Zoran's label for the.. thing. 

Vegeta flew along the "coast" until he saw the black river coursing down to the "sea". He hovered, watching, his eyes widening as the churning river water struck the slimy sea-gorp-thing and tore into it, washing great chunks of protoplasm away--only to be smothered as more slimy goo flowed in to fill the gaps. 

" _Kuso_!" he snarled to himself. "Is _this_ what that damned demon intends for Earth? My Earth--MY WORLD??" Power seethed around him in answer to the rage that shook the fierce prince. "NEVER!" 

Hair blazed golden as the fury shook him, and burst forth in a brilliant orb of fire, streaking down into the slime sea. Explosion! \-- the swelling detonation spread and spread, consuming everything from horizon to horizon. Vegeta rose high, high above the great fireball, feeding energy into it until at last his fury was slaked. 

Vegeta trembled as the smoke cleared; he'd spent far too much energy in a pointless gesture of rage. Or perhaps not.. he smirked at the sight below. 

A deep basin of blasted rock lay where the gorp-sea had been, stretching as far as he could see. The spreading blast had reached up the shore cliffs and burnt the nameless forest black for miles; nothing moved, save the billowing clouds of steam where the black river poured unopposed into the deep basin. The overwhelming foulness was gone. 

Vegeta's smirk turned into a satisfied smile; in time, there would be a _real_ sea here. "Time to go. I've things to do." He turned, and flew along the shore toward a distant power that beckoned him, and the foulness that opposed it. 

*      *      *      *

Prince Khara also flew, but this time on another's wings--with far more difficulty than expected. 

"Please explain to me _why_ all flights to Satan City have been cancelled," the aloof Prince demanded of the airline's agent. He'd made it as far as Shanghai, only to find out that his previously scheduled flight was unexpectedly cancelled. Prince Khara had no servants to arrange matters for him now; once he'd left Beautiful Lankha, the mission was his alone. 

The pretty girl behind the counter blinked at the aristocratic young Indian. "Haven't you heard about the earthquake? The city is a disaster area!" 

"Ah. I see," the dusky prince nodded. "Arrange a flight to the nearest city to Satan City," he ordered. 

"That would be-- yes, the airport is open--all right. Flight 437 to the Southern Capital is departing in an hour, sir." 

*      *      *      *

Vegeta crested a ridge, noting the solitary figure standing atop it, looking down into the valley ahead. He slowed to a hover, regarding it suspiciously--it didn't run like the small bands of broo Vegeta had obliterated on his way. He didn't sense that foulness, either. What--or who? He dropped lower, trying to get a good look. 

The figure finally stirred, leaping to its feet--obviously noticing Vegeta for the first time. It was an extremely lean--no, skeletal--person, and it brandished a spear. Something familiar about that stance... Modgudh! 

Vegeta dropped down to face the skeletal warrior maid. 

"--took you long enough to get here," she interrupted before he could do more than open his mouth. "I think I've been sitting here for a week!" 

"What?? Woman, what are you talking about, and how did you know I would come here?" 

"It's one of the important hero-paths through the Chaos Hells; everyone who fights Chaos comes this way. You're fighting Chaos, therefore..." She shrugged at the obviousness of it. "What took you so long, anyway?" 

Vegeta did not answer at first, but stared hard at her. There were changes--the dead guardian now carried a large round shield, and a steel-headed spear, marked with the runes of Air and Fire. Sparks crackled off the tip, and the glow of St. Elmo's fire surrounded the whole spear. 

"Nice toy.. Where'd you get it?" 

"I diced for it while you and Zorak Zoran were breaking the rocks with each other's heads." The naked bones of her face did not show any expression, but there was a certain tone of smug satisfaction in her voice. "That, and some information." 

"You WHAT??" Vegeta's eyebrows arched with incredulity. 

Her deep chuckle echoed within her hollow skull. "I thought that would get your attention. I played knucklebones with Orlanth--the god of Air and Storm--for the Lightning Spear." She hefted the weapon in question. "He was not so sore a loser when he learned that I needed it to fight Chaos; Air is a great enemy of Chaos in this place." 

A sly hint of a smile quirked the corner of Vegeta's mouth. "Whose knucklebones did you dice with?" 

"Mine, of course." 

Vegeta's smile turned into a knowing smirk. "You cheated." 

"Of course. This gamble was too important to lose." Vegeta couldn't see the smirk on her face, but he could hear it in her voice. 

"And the shield?" 

"A trade--my powers as bridge guardian for the power of the shield. Since I don't have a bridge to guard anymore, it seemed a good deal." She tilted her skull and regarded him with empty eye sockets. "You really don't know this is the hero-path, do you? What did you do, just stumble on this place by luck?" 

"Of course not!" Vegeta growled. "So--you can trade powers here, as well as take them in combat! That might be.. useful." He looked down into the valley, the well-worn hero-path now apparent to his sight. Far below, in the darkness, something monstrous crouched with many legs beside the path. 

Vegeta's eyebrows arched downward. "Another waste of time and energy--but I have to go past it! Damn this!" He leaped high and plunged into the valley, Modgudh scrambling down the steep path after him. 

Vegeta's power blazed around him, dispelling the pitch darkness of the valley floor. A monstrous scorpion--no, not a scorpion, but a nightmarish combination of woman and scorpion scuttled forward gripping a club in both hands. The creature was a horrid centaur with the lower portion of a scorpion and the head and chest of a woman--an ugly, bloated woman with very sharp teeth. She stood nearly twelve feet tall on six legs; darkness gathered at her feet. 

Vegeta grinned evilly at the monster, craning his neck to look up. "Run." 

The scorpion woman hissed, and raised her club as if to strike--and then scuttled quickly backwards. She flicked her legs, dancing in pools of darkness--darkness that suddenly welled up and flowed over Vegeta and Modgudh! 

Darkness. Silence. Cold. Terror--no, the ghost of fear long since laid to rest. Vegeta drew the wolfskin cloak close around him, and snarled soundlessly--he knew this darkness! 

"Zorak Zoran himself couldn't defeat me this way, fool!" He lashed out in the direction he'd last seen the scorpion-creature--and nearly fell on his face as the ground disappeared out from under him. A staircase, and he landed some way down it, still smothered in darkness. 

He let his power blaze around him, searing and stripping away the darkness that sought to quench it, until with a hiss it withered away. Vegeta looked around; in the darkness he'd somehow blundered into a cave, and halfway down a staircase. Modgudh crouched above him on the stair, spear ready. 

"Well?" Vegeta demanded imperiously, "don't just stand there like an idiot! You're not scared of the dark, are you?" With that, he decended the stair. 

Modgudh chuckled. "I outgrew _that_ a very long time ago. Death, darkness and the tomb are not exactly strangers to me..." 

Vegeta paused and turned to look up and down her skeletal form. He simply smirked, and continued down the stairs. 

"Prince Vegeta--where are you going?" 

"Down." 

*      *      *      *

"Mama! What are you doing?" Princess Kadru wailed. "I'll never catch up to him at this rate!" 

"Making sure that my own daughter is properly dressed and adorned," Princess Snake answered calmly as she inspected the fit of Kadru's kimono. "I never should have left you with your father--he has no notion of what is fitting for a young lady of your class and talents!" The blue-skinned snake goddess frowned, and shifted one of Kadru's bejewelled hairpins an inch to the left. "There, that's better." 

"But Papa did give me my bridal gold and everything--I already told you how it got lost--" 

"--and that never would have happened if Vasuki--pardon me, _King_ Vasuki--wasn't such a petty-minded idiot! If you had not been my daughter, he would have had no trouble arranging a suitable marriage for you--but he's still angry with me, and he took it out on you." Princess Snake snorted in disgust. " _That_ is unforgiveable!" 

"MAMA! That is a terrible thing to say about Papa!" 

"Nevertheless, it is true. Prince Vegeta seems to have done a better job of finding you a suitable bridegroom in a few short weeks than your father managed in several centuries!" The snake goddess adjusted a few more of Kadru's hairpins. "I owe him a favor; Prince Khara of Lankha will be an excellent match. I have already sent a messenger to King Vibishana." She sighed wistfully. 

"Mama? What's the matter?" 

"Oh, nothing, really." Princess Snake sighed again. "Why are the good ones always taken? First, Son Goku, now this Prince Vegeta... Ah, well, there's always dear Enma--but he's so busy these days; we never seem to find time for each other anymore." 

"Mama.." Kadru turned away from the mirror to face her mother, a serious expression on her face. "Perhaps you should make time. If he does mean that much to you..." She lowered her eyes, suddenly bashful. 

Princess Snake looked at her daughter, suddenly thoughtful. "You have changed, daughter. There is some wisdom in your words..." She looked her daughter Kadru over one last time. "Excellent! We need not keep the Ferryman waiting any longer; it is time for you to go to Prince Khara." 

"Thank you, Mama! I knew you would help me!" Kadru impulsively hugged her mother. 

"How could you doubt it? What else can a mother do but help her child in time of need?" 

*      *      *      *

Something dark and insatiably hungry waited below, along with a rapidly fading power that contended with the darkness. That much Vegeta could sense, and no more--but it was enough to speed him downward. What if the fading power was the one Vegeta sought? He dared not be too late. 

Black wings fluttered toward them; suddenly, a swarm of wings circled Vegeta and Modgudh, diving and striking. With every strike, Vegeta felt a minute fraction of his power drain away. 

" _Kuso_! These things are ki-vampires!" With a flurry of blows, the Saiyan prince mangled and broke the swarm around him. He glanced back; Modgudh fended them off repeatedly with her shield as her spear darted and stabbed, flinging broken wings hither and yon. 

"No time to waste!" Vegeta snarled, hovering in the air. He grabbed Modgudh by one skeletal arm and hurtled down the stairway, flying with terrifying speed down the narrow, blind-dark tunnel. Several times they smashed through swarms of fluttering black wings, scattering them with their sheer speed and leaving the evil spirits far behind. 

Without warning, Vegeta burst into a huge dark gulf; emptiness surrounded him. No, not emptiness; he sensed countless thousands of the fluttering Black Wings in the abyss around him--and somewhere below, that hungry maleficence and the fading power on which it.. fed. 

With a scream of rage, Vegeta plunged down, down into the black gulf, towing Modgudh with him. 

His light revealed the battered, bloody body of a woman held in the grip of something dark, her pale face upturned, eyes open and empty. She lived.. barely. Blood dripped from her torn throat--but only a little. Red-orange hair clotted with blood spilled down. Her power, her life was almost completely gone; only a thread remained. 

Crouched over her, hold her in its grasp was something black and hungry; red eyes burned in the darkness above sharp white teeth. Darkness cloaked it, hiding its true face and power. The thing hissed at Prince Vegeta. 

Vegeta snarled back, "What beast are _you_?" 

And how in all the hells did a living human woman get _here_? Vegeta thought, but did not say aloud. 

"Good question," Modgudh added dryly, "but it doesn't seem inclined to answer." 

"Die eternally, and feed me!" the dark monster growled, dropping his dying victim--and leaping toward Vegeta. 

Vegeta dodged the thing easily, and responded with a brutal blow to the thing's back--and cried out! Half his power drained away at that mere touch; the Saiyan prince swayed and nearly fell. 

Unbidden, Raditz's words returned to his mind: 

_"The mara drains soul force by touch--yours or its..."_

_"So blasting the little bastard would make him stronger, would it? And he'd steal my strength if I fought him hand-to-hand? That would be a tricky fight.. an interesting fight! Are there other demons like him?" Vegeta had asked._

_"There are. Why do you think the Saiyajin Demon Guard--my outfit--all carry swords?" Raditz had answered._

Vegeta's lips drew back in a snarl; so this is one of those _other_ soul-draining demons! Yes, it would be an.. interesting fight. 

The dying, soul-drained woman on the ground stirred, murmuring, "Woe, stranger! Look upon one who dared to face Vivamort, and see your fate!" A single tear trickled from her right eye. 

The monster laughed. 

*      *      *      *

The red ogre was not laughing; in fact, he looked distinctly worried. As one of the two guardians of this bit of Upper Hell, he had a job to do--no matter how painful the consequences. 

"Hey! You there! Stop! You can't go that way!" The oni waved his arms as he ran across the rocky field toward the crowd of people approaching a certain cave. Behind him, his partner, the blue ogre, looked puzzled as he dug bits of clay out of his ears. 

With a burst of speed, the slender red ogre darted ahead and put himself between the oncoming group and the narrow Cave of the Stair. He put his hands on his hips and said confidently, "You can just turn around and go back where you came from--you're not getting past me now that I know you're here!" 

"Aw, is that so?" came a particularly loud, derisive voice. "I can really just turn around and go all the way back?" 

The red ogre hurriedly put on a bent and cracked pair of glasses, squinting at the speaker as he did so. The group facing him suddenly sprang into focus. A particularly large, ugly, bald Saiyan warrior in archaic armour, several humans, a one-eyed Saiyan warrior--and _eight_ gozu-oni faced him! 

"Nappa!" The ogre's voice broke into a squeak. 

The bald Saiyan smirked as he cracked his knuckles. "How 'bout I just go _through_ you instead of past you? Or maybe _over_ you?" His smirk deepened. "We got an appointment with Lord Enma." 

The red ogre gulped. Eight gozu-oni--this just might be legitimate; the bull-headed demons were notoriously honest and would not go along with an escape attempt... He straightened himself up. "You have the necessary forms and passes, of course?" 

Nappa's smirk changed abruptly to a scowl; he turned to the smaller Saiyan and folded his arms. With a jerk of his head toward the red oni, he snarled, "Take care of it!", and stood there, scowling impatiently. 

"Yes, sir!" Negi saluted Nappa, strolled over to the red ogre, and held up two bone wands carved with characters. "Passes." 

The ogre would have taken them, but Negi snatched the passes away. "You can see them just fine from there." Next, he came up with a scroll, and unfurled it for the ogre to read. "And you can read this just fine from where you are, so don't go getting grabby again." 

Red looked the document over, read it from beginning to end, and then from end to beginning again. "This is highly irregular..." 

"Aw, really?" Nappa's scowl brighted to a smirk again, and he resumed cracking his knuckles. 

".. but not too irregular," the ogre concluded with haste. "Go right ahead, I wouldn't think of delaying your visit with Lord Enma!" 

"Aw, pity." Nappa looked disappointed as the group filed past into the narrow cavern entrance, four gozu-oni, Negi, the human souls, four more gozu-oni, and finally, Nappa, looking even more disappointed. 

*      *      *      *

The monster laughed; Vegeta's eyes widened as darkness rippled and closed around the gaping wound in the creature's gut. 

"Useless!" Vegeta tossed the Lightning Spear back to Modgudh with a disdainful shrug and a snarl. "It heals faster than I can wound it with toys like that!" 

He dared not touch it--nor blast it, for like Android #19, it would consume energy thrown at it--that left only weapons--and weapons did too little damage. There must be something.. Vegeta probed his stolen memories from Zorak Zoran. What was a Vivamort? 

Ah. Vivamort, Lord of Vampires, Chaos God of Dark Undeath--loathed by everyone for his predatory ways. Vegeta noted with a smirk that he was one of the few chaos gods so disgusting and vicious that even other chaotics hated him. 

Vivamort.. was not fond of running water--Styx hated him and had sworn to destroy him; nor did he like Fire and Sky--it weakened and burnt him; Earth rejected him and denied him her strength; but his worst enemy was.. Death. Vivamort the Undead had no soul--Death, the Severer of Spirits was utter annihilation to the dark god and his warped children. 

"So that's why you're so hungry for ki and spirit! You have none of your own, you have to steal it!" Vegeta hissed as he dodged the evil god. He could sense the gaping emptiness, the insatiable dark hunger that Vivamort possessed in lieu of either soul or ki. 

"I will feast on you, Sun-child," the undead god growled, sharp white fangs bared. "Your power is my power.. now." With that, he dissolved, leaving only swirling cloud of mist in his place. 

"What the--?" Vegeta's exclamation was choked off as the mist surrounded him, blinding him, embracing him... 

..and became Vivamort once again, holding the Saiyan prince in his dark embrace. Vegeta screamed as he felt the power draining out of his spirit--a scream that abruptly ended in a gasp as sharp teeth bit into his neck, bringing a dark ecstasy with them. The Saiyan moaned as the numbing ecstasy spread through his body, filling him with a dark pleasure like none he'd ever known before. The slow destruction of his soul filled Vegeta with a piercing sensual delight; his one passion was to surrender himself utterly to Vivamort's hunger. 

But more than mere passion drove Vegeta--in life, in death, and now. Even as the terrible ectasy washed over him in waves, his hand fell to his waist, his fingertips brushing against the small wolf-skin pouch made by Kadru. Vegeta's fingers reached in, almost of their own volition, and drew out a tiny object. As his ghost's body shuddered with destroying pleasure, a part of his mind embraced something else--a cold, keen, familiar fury. 

"I.." he gasped, aching with the hellish pleasure that he should not have been able to feel, "give.. you.." his eyes rolled back in their sockets _and turned black_ , "DEATH!" Vegeta's arm stabbed upward, ramming Hati's great canine tooth all the way through the vampire god's body. 

Vivamort roared with pain, ripping himself away from Vegeta's throat--a roar that rose and rose into a high-pitched shriek of disintegration as black fire ran up Vegeta's hand and over the impaling tooth, turning it shiny black. The shriek grew in volume until it seemed the very stones would shatter--and stopped. 

The great moon wolf's tooth dropped to the ground with a loud clatter in the sudden silence. It was over. Death had severed from its semblance of life the soul of one who had no soul. Of Vivamort, not even dust remained. 

Vegeta dropped to his hands and knees, trembling with exhaustion, cold sweat pouring off him. " _Chikusho_! He got almost all my energy!" He sat down on the stone floor, his hand reaching almost of its own accord for the last peach--then he stopped. "Modghud?" 

The skeletal warrior maiden hovered above the broken, dying woman on the floor; as Vegeta watched, she reached her fingertips out to touch the other woman's fingers. "There's nothing left of her," Modgudh said. "Her body cannot live without the strength of her spirit, and what is left of her spirit is too weak to survive in this hell-- _and I would live again_!" 

Their fingers met--a blinding light and a desperate shriek--it was done. Vegeta blinked; where two had been, one lay, shaking her head and holding herself. _This_ woman had long auburn hair, and reached slowly for the spear and shield at her side. 

"Modghud?" Vegeta asked again, eyebrows arched. 

"No--Yes," the woman's voice answered, echoing as if two spoke as one. "We are--I am no longer Modgudh, nor Griselda.. call me.. Mogris." She flexed her right hand, looking at it wonderingly, and then looked quizzically at Vegeta. "Prince Vegeta.. your armor?" 

" _Nani_?" The Saiyan prince looked down at himself. His bodysuit had darkened to black, and the formerly white armor on top had turned blood-red, as had his gloves and boots. Only his cloak remained the same; Hati's fur still glistened the pristine white of snow. 

"These.. are the colors of Zorak Zoran," Vegeta frowned. "When I used the Death rune--" 

Mogris's head jerked up. "The Death rune! Aye, naught else would have slain Vivamort so thoroughly." She frowned. "Know the cost, Prince Vegeta. He who holds Death, cannot grasp Life." 

Vegeta scowled silently as he drew forth the last peach and bit into it. Once again, he fastidiously wiped the juice from his gloves after he finished the last of the precious fruit, all the while ignoring Mogris. At last he glanced at her as he prepared to leave. 

" _Nani_?" Both of his eyebrows arched up; Mogris hovered about five feet above the stone floor, smirking. "Since when could you fly?" Vegeta snarled. 

"She who I now am was a Master of the Air Rune," Mogris answered. A cool breeze swirled around them. "Air, Motion, Mastery--she was a Hero of Orlanth, and a hunter of Chaos. Flight is the least of Orlanth's powers." 

As Vegeta rose into the air, Mogris followed, borne up on a cold wind. 

|  |   
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*      *      *      *

Zorn jumped lightly into the chariot, watching Prince Indrajit warily as he did so. He noted in passing that this was the first time he'd ridden in a chariot--perhaps the first time _any_ Saiyan had ever ridden in such a vehicle. (He did not know of Prince Vegeta's brief ride in Prince Khara's chariot). Saiyans had always flown when they wanted to go any real distance, and had had no need of vehicles. Here in Hell, they just jaunted--demon teleport-- when they needed to get somewhere in a hurry. 

Zorn, King's Man, former Captain of the Royal Guard, didn't need to "get somewhere"--his orders were to watch Prince Indrajit, and deliver orders to Bardock's team and any other Saiyajin Demon Guardsmen they should come across. He sighed through clenched teeth; _watching_ Indrajit was easy--he was stuck in the same chariot with him. Zorn edged away from him as far as he could get--which wasn't very far. Demons made him uneasy. 

"Uneasy" was an understatement; after more than two decades in Hell, he loathed and hated the cruel monsters with a passion that rivalled the King's hatred of Freiza. The only thing that stopped Zorn from turning ouzaru and ripping every demon he saw into quivering shreds in spite of the King's orders was the small fact that the Rakshasa demons weren't truly demons of Hell. They weren't the evil, tormenting spirits of this realm of eternal pain; they were the shades of a mortal demon race. Like the Saiyajin, they too were trapped in their own hell, suffering the fruits of their own wicked deeds. 

Right now Indrajit was talking to his general--Prahasta, or was it Jumbamali? Zorn had trouble telling the rakshasas apart; he was only sure of lean, mighty Indrajit in his silver armor. The dead Saiyan warrior wrapped his tail tightly about himself, scowling. 

"We are ready," the Rakshasa prince finally told him; with a flick of his reins, the demon-tigers spread their wings and pulled the chariot aloft. An army of rakshasas flew with them, ready to face the broo demons of Chaos--and stop them from joining Cacodemon on Earth, as Demon King Vibishana had promised Prince Vegeta half an eternity ago. 

It was the job of the Saiyajin to make sure none of the Chaos monsters escaped back into Hell, nor returned to the unknown nether Hell that spawned them. 

*      *      *      *

The land frayed and broke apart into islands separated by swamps of heaving slime; the air was thick with sky gorp and less nameable things that flitted through the air; and there was neither sea nor sky, just a grey void that sucked everything into itself. (If Goku had been there, he would have recognized that twisting, devouring hole in reality--but he was not, and Vegeta had never seen a deadzone). Armies battled here, on the edge of annihilation. 

Vegeta, crouching low with Mogris just behind him, thought there had been two armies once; one of broo, and one of Uz and other chaos enemies. Now there was.. chaos. Whole regiments vanished into the slime when the land broke apart, or were sucked up screaming into the sky; whole regiments sometimes appeared, vomited up out of the slime or emerging from the earth and darkness. At the center of the largest group of broo some.. _Thing_ walked, a Thing that hurt the eyes to look at for even a moment. Wherever it walked, armies mutated and changed into slithering chaos horrors, and turned to follow the Thing. 

"Pocharngo the Mutator," Mogris whispered in Vegeta's ear, as they watched the unending battle from the shelter of a mostly stable rock spur. 

At the head of the largest group of Uz, the men of darkness, a mighty Uz strode, armored and unafraid. A strange power sang around him, and where he walked, chaos horrors collapsed, monstrous features gone, powers stripped away, leaving only feeble beastmen bleating in terror and fleeing from the triumphant Uz. 

"Boztakang Chaosfighter," Vegeta answered, grinning fiercely. "I have found him at last!" His grin turned to a frown of apprehension as the Mutator's ever-growing army twisted ponderously to face Boztakang and his Uz. 

Uz changed, twisting, deforming before the Saiyan prince's very eyes. Twisted Uz howled and loped off into the hills, abandoning the battle; only a tiny regiment around Boztakang stood firm, unchanged by the Mutator. Countless thousands of howling broo and less nameable things shambled to the attack, assaulting the beleagured regiment--and the Mutator crashed through his own hordes, straight toward Boztakang Chaosfighter. 

"NOOOOO!" Vegeta howled in rage. "Not when I am so close! IT SHALL NOT BE! I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!" Power flared and rose within him, and rose high into the sky. 

The White Moon rose from Vegeta's hand. The Ouzaru roared its anger and defiance. The land shook beneath its tread; darkness fled from the golden fire that seethed through its golden fur. 

Mogris flew fast, flinging herself to one side. "Is _this_ what I have travelled with and dared to mock?" 

Pocharngo the Mutator shifted its attention to this new threat and lashed out with its power of chaotic mutation-- 

Boztakang Chaosfighter saw, and turned his secret power against the Mutator-- 

The Ouzaru answered in a voice like thunder: "BIG BANG ATTACK!" 

*      *      *      *

Amid the smoking ruins of Chaos, Prince Vegeta faced Boztakang Chaosfighter. The Uz stood proud and unafraid, a tall, dark muscular creature with a long, tusked muzzle and tiny squinting eyes--much like his brother, Jeset the Ferryman. Once again, Vegeta heard that odd chirping sound, which he now knew to be a form of sonar. 

"So be it. Your secret, for the Death rune." Vegeta allowed himself a tiny smirk. "A profitable trade--though I lose the power of severing souls, we both keep the other techniques we already know, and grow in power!" And I, he thought to himself, am well rid of this cold enemy of Life--my life! 

Boztakang grunted. "You will keep all the lesser powers you have learned from Death--and I gain its powers for my kin." The darkness demigod almost smiled. "Grandmother will be pleased," he rumbled. 

Vegeta did not sneer--the demigod's grandmother was Kyger Litor, the great Dark Goddess of the Uz. In this strange Time Before Time, everyone seemed to be related to everyone else--even mad Zorak Zoran was a very distant cousin of sorts. 

For a moment, they touched, spirit to spirit, each reaching inside himself and giving to the other the gift of his choosing. In a moment, it was done. Freed of the burden of Death, possessing the secret of Cacodemon's destruction, Vegeta turned away, toward Time and Life. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XXVII. THE GATES OF HELL


	28. XXVII. The Gates of Hell

## XXVII. THE GATES OF HELL

Raditz plunged through the empty air where the void had been, and crashed hard into the back wall of the quarry pit. Goku sliced through the same empty air, grasping vainly at his vanished son. Hurtling through the air at super-saiyan speed, not even super-saiyan reactions were fast enough--Goku barely managed to avoid crashing into Raditz as he smashed into the quarry wall. 

WHOOOOOMMM! The sheer force of Goku's impact blasted a huge semi-circular crater in the wall of the quarry--doubling the size of the pit, and spraying thousands of tons of marble gravel across nearby hills. In Satan City, they felt it, but dismissed it as yet another aftershock of the quake. 

Silence reigned at the bottom of the quarry, silence broken only by short, sharp gasps of pain from Sinhika, and the rustling of gravel as Raditz pulled himself painfully out from under the broken quarry wall. He turned slowly to face the shattered altar, every muscle in flaming agony. 

Goku pushed boulders of shocked marble off himself and rose into the air, looking around. He alighted near Sinhika, his face serious. "You're hurt pretty bad," he told her as he knelt beside the injured Rakshasa girl. He glanced at Raditz, who nodded as he limped slowly toward his younger brother. 

"Here, eat this," Goku put a senzu bean between her lips; Sinhika gulped it down. Her eyes widened abruptly, and she gasped. 

"Hey!" She sat up suddenly, still holding her stomach; then she slowly let go, marvelling at the unmarred flesh beneath the huge slash in her bloody clothing. "That's much better. Thank you." 

The dark-skinned demon-girl got to her feet and regarded Goku quizzically. "I--" 

"Goku!" Raditz interrupted. "Did you see-- are they-- where are Goten and Trunks? Did you rescue them?" The long-haired warrior held himself close, his face drawn with pain, desperation in his eyes. 

Goku looked at him, his face very serious. He slowly shook his head. "No. They fell into that.. deadzone." He clenched his fists. "It's my fault; I should have listened better when Piccolo gave me your warning about the demons." 

"No." Raditz collapsed to his knees, shuddering with pain, his long hair falling around him like a cloak. "No! Not your fault. It was _my_ duty to protect them.. and I FAILED!" 

"What's a deadzone?" interrupted Sinhika as she wiped and sheathed her blades. 

"Something an old enemy once created--a door into a prison of absolute darkness," Goku answered grimly. 

"Hmmph! Well, THAT was a rift into the underworld--and these bastards," she waved her hands at the charred corpses scattered about, "have been summoning those beast-demons from there." She indicated the arrow-pierced corpses of the various broo. 

Raditz lifted his head. "How do you know this?" Something tickled the back of his memory, something about alien beast-demons like this... 

"I saw them do it--and I know the taste of a gate to the underworld. My people are.. rather magical. We dwell on Earth or in the underworld as it suits us." The orange-haired demon-girl smiled at Goku. 

"You're a demon," Goku said, curious. 

"Yes--but I'm not an _oni_ or _gaki_ ," she said, naming the two commonest demon types of the region. "I am _rakshasa_." 

"--They're in Hell." Raditz interrupted, his voice flat. There was only despair in his eyes when he looked at his younger brother. 

"What? Are you sure?" Goku clenched his fists, the only hint beyond his unsmiling face of the turmoil within. 

Raditz nodded wearily. "I remembered-- the alien beast-demons. They had just appeared in Hell when I.. left." He closed his eyes and shuddered. "It's no place for children." 

"Then we'll just have to go there and bring them back," Sinhika said in a matter-of-fact way, as if trips to Hell were a lot like running down to the local convenience store. 

"No, not 'we'. _I_ failed them. This is mine to amend--and I know only one way to do it." Raditz rose to his feet, his face bleak. "Goku.." the tall Saiyan staggered slightly, his seared leg muscles nearly refusing to support him. 

"Goku.. Kill me! Send me back to Hell, and I'll find the kids. You HAVE to do it! I won't defend myself--and you have more than enough power even if I did. Please! It's the only way." 

*      *      *      *

"There they are!" Gohan pointed down into the huge quarry pit; Piccolo nodded. "There's Dad, and Raditz, and I can't see who else--" 

"HEY! GOHAN! GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!" Bulma jumped up and down, waving wildly from her ledge. On the quarry rim, another small figure jumped up and down and yelled, trying to get some attention. 

"You get Bulma, I'll get the other one," Piccolo instructed his favorite (and only) student. "So that wretched Saiyajin managed to survive again?" He shook his head as he swooped down to the indignant girl on the quarry rim. 

"Yikes! Who are you?" Nezumi squeaked as Piccolo scooped her up and plummeted down into the quarry pit. 

*      *      *      *

Goku stared at Raditz in silent horror as Bulma and Gohan dropped to the ground beside him. 

"WHERE'S TRUNKS??" Bulma yelled, looking around. Fear filled her eyes. "Raditz, tell me! Where's Trunks?" she begged. 

"Dad, where's Goten?" Gohan asked, his voice tense with worry. 

Raditz looked away, unable to face Bulma. "GOKU! Please.. You'd be doing me a favor." 

"Do what, Dad?" Gohan asked, puzzled. Goku remained silent. 

"RADITZ!" Bulma yelled. "Tell me where Trunks is--Oh no." Fear turned to dread certainity before Raditz could answer. "No, oh please no! Not Trunks, too!" Bulma sank to her knees, tears filling her eyes. "He's dead, isn't he?" 

"I don't know--he might still be alive," Raditz finally spoke. "But.. he's in Hell." 

Gohan turned white. "And Goten?" His lip trembled, and the boy clenched his fists. 

Raditz nodded. "With Trunks, wherever that is." 

"My baby's in Hell?" Bulma held herself. "NOOOOOOOO!" Deep sobs wracked her; Sinhika held the distraught blue-haired woman. 

"GOKU! DO IT! Please!" Raditz cried out. "It's the only way!" 

"Do what?" Gohan asked again. 

"There must be some other way!" Goku finally said, anguish in his voice. "The Dragonballs--" 

"No time!" Raditz snarled. "I will not leave innocent children in Hell as the price of my life! I have been there, Kakarott--and I would pay _any_ price to get them out of it! I _will_ pay the price, I _will_ go to them and do whatever it takes to get them back--now DO IT! Send me back to Hell! KILL ME!" 

"It might work," Piccolo spoke up as he dropped in with Nezumi. He stared at Raditz. "You have changed, Raditz" the Namek admitted with a certain grudging respect. "But you are still a bastard for trying to make your own brother kill you." Piccolo curled his lip back, baring one fang. "I will spare Son Goku that grief, and take care of you myself." So saying, the green warrior raised two fingers to his forehead in a gesture all too familiar to Raditz. 

Raditz's brows arched downward in anger; he scowled, clenching his fists--then forced them open again, his expression changing to bleak resignation. 

"Piccolo--wait!" Goku said. 

"NO WAY!" Nezumi jumped in front of Raditz, blocking him with her body. "Are you people all insane?? I am NOT letting you kill Raditz!" 

Raditz blinked. "What?" 

Sinhika's eyes widened with recognition. "Kakarott? Son Goku is 'Kakarott'?" she muttered to herself. 

"Gohan, take this girl and Bulma and leave. They don't need to see this," Piccolo growled. 

"No," Goku said firmly. "It won't work." 

"What??" chorused Piccolo and Raditz. Gohan looked from one to the other, almost as confused as they were. 

Nezumi glared at Piccolo, arms folded. "My name is Nezumi, not 'this girl'," she muttered. 

Goku looked intently at Raditz. "I don't think you'd go to Hell this time.. big brother." 

Raditz's shoulders slumped, and he sighed. "You just might be right--and mother would agree with you." Comprehension dawned on Gohan's face. 

"'This time'?" Nezumi wondered. 

"There is another way," Sinhika spoke up. Everyone turned to stare at her. Bulma looked up, her face streaked with tears, desperate hope in her eyes. 

"What?" Raditz demanded. He started to step forward, then winced as fresh pain ripped through him. 

"You're hurt!" Goku was surprised. 

"I went too far with Kaioken," Raditz answered abruptly. 

"Kaioken! I didn't think you were ready for that! You were lucky to survive!" Goku marvelled, and tossed a senzu at Raditz. 

"The first Kaioken was okay--I got hurt when I tried Kaioken times two." Raditz caught the magic bean and winced, rubbing his sore right shoulder; the motion unfortunately aggravated his sore left shoulder. He quickly ate the bean. 

Goku's jaw dropped. "You tried Kaioken times TWO??" 

"HOW ARE WE GOING TO RESCUE MY BABY?" Bulma screamed, unable to endure Goku's digression. 

"I know another.. gate into Hell, and it is nearby," Sinhika said, getting to her feet. 

"Why didn't you mention this earlier?" Raditz snarled. 

"It took until now to remember the Mantra of Opening, without which this 'gate' is merely a door for disembodied spirits, nothing more. _I_ know the spell to open it for the living." Sinhika smiled fiercely. 

The ghost of hope glimmered in Raditz's eyes. "Lead us to it, then." As Sinhika rose into the air, he turned to Bulma, only to find that his brother Goku already carried her in his arms. Nezumi cleared her throat, and looked at Raditz expectantly. The big Saiyan picked her up, and they departed, leaving only the dead behind. 

Most of the dead, that is--Voron's corpse was nowhere to be seen. 

*      *      *      *

Ki blasts refracted off of glittering mirror-scales; the Captain of Ragnaglar howled with delight and leaped forward. His slashing claws missed the agile Toma, but the leap moved the chaos demon another few yards closer to his goal. 

"Persistant, isn't he?" Celipa yelled to Toma, who had just dodged the demon again. 

"Too persistant! Anything he wants this bad, I do NOT want to give him!" Toma yelled back. 

"Neither do I! Toma, Celipa, fall back and guard the other side of the vortex--and DON'T LOOK UP! I want some of us still thinking straight!" Bardock grinned fiercely at the big demon, and flung a glowing white sphere into the non-sky of Hell. "Totepo, Panboukin--THIS ONE'S OURS!" 

The two large Saiyans and Bardock looked up at the artificial moon... 

*      *      *      *

Something that was dead and yet still moved limped slowly along the gravel service road. His enemies flew toward Satan City on the wings of their own power; _he_ had no such power to spare. Fortunately, most of the vehicles that had been parked above the quarry were still intact and driveable. One of them might even match one of the sets of keys he'd looted from the charred corpses below; if not, well, he knew how to hotwire a car. 

Glowing crimson eyes glanced in the direction of the city; he'd catch up to his enemies soon enough. Then.. ah, yes, then! Dead lips drew back in a hideous smile; he would have laughed, but he had no lungs left. 

*      *      *      *

WHAAAAAMMMM! The vortex exploded in a flash of blinding light as its creator died. The very canyons of Hell cracked and shattered at the touch of that unthinkable concussion; monsters found themselves tossed and scattered from one end of Hell to the other. The ouzaru standing over the crushed remains of something with mirrored scales tumbled head over heels, and were flung sprawling, dazzled and half-deafened into the canyons. 

At the center of the destruction, in a field of broken, flattened rubble, two small figures held on to each other. 

"Truuunks! I'm scared!" Goten locked his arms around Trunks's waist. 

Trunks's head hurt; so did the rest of his body. Still stunned from the beating Enforcer and Deputy had given him, he could only blink and hold onto Goten. He wished his head would stop spinning! And where was Mom? 

"Trunks.." A new note of dread crept into Goten's voice, "Bad things coming." 

Trunks rubbed his eyes; his head wasn't spinning so bad anymore, though it ached like fury. He managed to rub loose the dried blood gumming his eyelids shut and looked around. 

Mom was nowhere around; the whole quarry was gone. There was nothing but broken rock below and glowing red fog above. And there were monsters sneaking up on them... bad things. 

Trunks gulped; some of them were animal-headed men--but they didn't look nearly so nice as the _hengeyoki_ back home. Others were.. really ugly; all slimy and tentacly or bony and twisted looking. Some were both -- there was one who looked like a goat-man made of brown mud, and there was a satyr-like monster with a fringe of wriggling tentacles growing around his waist like a skirt, and a long tail with a toothy mouth at the end. 

I am not afraid, Trunks told himself. I am a prince of the Saiyajin, and the son of Vegeta. I WILL NOT BE AFRAID! I wish Father was here.. or Raditz-san.. or Goku-san.. or Gohan. This is just like fighting the gaki, he tried to convince himself. (But Raditz-san isn't here this time!) I wish I had my spirit sword-- 

"HEY!" Trunks jumped as the longsword appeared in his hand, as if it had been there all the time. He stared at it--it felt _real_ , it had weight and hardness, not like before, when it was Spirit, barely felt. He swept it back and forth experimentally, testing the balance-- 

The monsters charged. 

*      *      *      *

Dying sucks, thought Sean as the blood thundered in his ears and his vision began to fade--except for the demon commander and the others with him. _They_ were becoming more substantial, more real as the rest of the world turned dark. 

The wall exploded in a flash of orange. 

Sean found himself sprawled on the floor, breathing once more. The white-cloaked demon commander stood in the middle of the room, his arms crossed in front of his face, looking.. startled. There was also a large new hole in the wall and in the neighboring apartment. 

"I told you something didn't feel right," Sinhika's voice rang out in the sudden silence. 

"He's a Saiyajin!" an unfamiliar voice said. "I don't understand--my blow went right through him!" 

Sean squinted at the broad-shouldered young man--no older than Sean--in the orange karate gi. His heart froze--that face and hair! He was the very image of the scar-faced demon in the red cloak from his painting! Not another one! Behind him, another, taller figure looked around him and tried to push past. 

The demon commander didn't seem too pleased to see the new arrivals. "Great. Right when I was wrapping this mission up.." He snapped his fingers--the demon commander's warriors reappeared around the apartment. "Keep these fools out of my hair while I finish this mission!" 

"THEY'RE ALL SAIYAJIN!" A younger voice yelled from out in the living room. What the hell was a 'Saiyajin'? Sean wondered. 

"They're all dead," the taller interloper said flatly. "You won't be able to hurt them--they're ghosts." He stepped forward, pushing past the orange-garbed man. Between the two newcomers, the demon, and Sean, the room was just about full. 

"Hello, Kale--I can't say I'm glad to see you," the tall, long-haired newcomer said. 

"Raditz," Commander Kale snarled coldly, and then his eyes widened. "You're.. breathing! YOU'RE ALIVE!" It sounded like an accusation. 

"Yeah." Raditz smirked. "I guess the demon-girl was right--there is a gate to Hell here." 

Now that he was close enough to spit on his boot, Sean finally recognized the newcomer--it was the long-haired tough who'd been across the street from Floodland that one time. The chill crept into his blood again; what he'd taken for a fur belt Sean now knew to be a tail. This guy--Raditz--was one of _them_ , one of the monkey-tailed demons of his painting. He didn't seem any more pleased to see the demon commander--Kale--than Kale was to see him. 

"Not for long," Kale snapped. "I don't know how you got yourself incarnated again, but if you remember anything about Hell, you know where I fit in. I have a job to do; don't get in my way, low-born!" 

"Does your 'job' include killing a helpless man who can't fight you?" the guy in orange growled. Oh, good, thought Sean; someone besides me thinks my murder is a bad idea. 

"He has the power to create forbidden gates! I have my orders; he must die, so that this gate or another like it can never re-open." Kale smiled cruelly. "It matters not--you do not have the power to stop me before this weakling dies.. Kakarott." 

"You know, I've beaten everyone who started by calling me that," 'Kakarott' grinned, slipping into fighting stance. "For the record, my name is Son Goku!" 

"..and you are the Super-Saiyajin who defeated Frieza." Kale bowed, an ironic smirk on his face. "But you can't stop what you can't touch!" he said--and vanished. After that, everything happened at once--or at least, too fast for Sean to follow. 

Something tall and hairy flashed over Sean, and was thrown back, as if by a blow; there was a flash of orange and another hole appeared in his wall. An exclamation of dismay-- 

"I really can't hit him!" yelled Goku. 

"It's just like fighting the Ghost Ochimo. Ask Gohan about that," Raditz laughed mockingly-- 

Something bright slashed the air-- 

\--and everyone froze. Commander Kale stood awkwardly, clutching at his shoulder; two feet of glowing white katana protruded just below his right shoulder blade. Shock and astonishment ran across his face; Raditz had run him through. Raditz stepped back, pulling his blade free with a twist; Kale staggered, but kept his feet. Phantasmal blood welled up from the wound and vanished before it hit the floor. 

Raditz's smirk deepened. "But _I_ can touch you!" He lifted the sword into guard position. "Shall I try two for two?" The smirk vanished, and Raditz scowled. "Call off your ghosts, Kale--unless you want to report back to Hell carrying your head under one arm!" 

"Damn you, Raditz!" Kale snarled. "If I report another failure, it doesn't matter what you do to me first!" The ghost tensed, readying himself. 

"Before you do anything stupid," Raditz snapped, "get hold of yourself! I'll bet your orders weren't literally 'Kill whoever made this gate', were they, Kale? You came up with that one yourself." Raditz growled softly. 

Kale's eyes narrowed, and he nodded, almost against his will. A flurry of exclamations from the outer room indicated that the other Saiyans had vanished once again. Sean rubbed his throat and watched, fascinated. Goku danced from side to side, trying to see around Raditz's hair. 

"So what were your orders, and who gave them?" 

Kale smirked. "My orders come from King Vegeta himself! I was ordered to find out where this rift went, and make sure whatever opened it doesn't do so again!" He shrugged. "You see, I have no choice--and that pitiful weakling has no choice but to die. You can't change that!" 

Raditz sneered, "Typical. You can't see beyond your orders, and you don't think! That's what got you in trouble on Tsaba, remember?" 

Kale's eyes widened with anger. "When you return to Hell," he threatened-- 

"Don't worry, that'll be Real Soon Now." Raditz smirked again. "You see, we need that rift you're in such a hurry to close--because things are more screwed up than even you could make them if you tried! While you've been worrying about _this_ rift, someone's been throwing _living_ people physically into Hell--and it's MY job to bring them back here where they belong!" 

"WHAT???" 

*      *      *      *

"Truunnks! Behind you!" Goten yelled, and Trunks spun around. Block, thrust, parry, slash--another monster went down. He panted heavily; there were so many of them, and they came from all sides. 

"Goten! You have to help! I can't get them all!" 

"How??? I don't know how to fight yet--Daddy was gonna teach me after my half-way birthday!" Goten pouted angrily; Trunks saw what looked suspiciously like a few tears running down his face. 

"'You're stronger than you think'," Trunks quoted. "I don't know, hit them with rocks or something!" 

Goten brightened. "Okay!" He bent down and picked up a small boulder, determination on his face. "But N'Uncle Raditz said that first." 

Pipunc, a seriously mutated broo who resembled a goat-man carved out of brown mud, suddenly realized he was in trouble. The tiny kid he was about to attack had just picked up a boulder that he, Pipunc, could barely have lifted. "Uh-oh. That kid's str--" 

"GOT HIM!" Goten yelled delightedly as his boulder crashed into the mud broo's head. The chaos demon's body dissolved into mist and seeped away as the broken spirit fled. Goten picked up another boulder and looked around for a new target. There were far too many. 

CRACK-BOOM! A sphere of energy arced down to explode between the two kids, incinerating another broo and flinging them through the air. Goten found himself alone, in a narrow canyon, while Trunks.. was not alone. 

As he picked himself up, head ringing, the violet-haired boy flinched back instinctively as something came at him from the corner of his eye. His instincts saved him; a black, ridged tentacle just missed his neck; teeth gnashed inches from his face. 

Trunks ducked and rolled away from the goat-demon-thing; it was the one he'd seen before, with the tentacled waist and the extra mouth on its tail. It hissed, and raised its hand, bony knives sprouting from its fingers as the violet-haired boy watched. Trunks raised his sword. 

The demon came in slashing with both claws; Trunks backed, parrying, and tried to counterattack, but couldn't get past the creature's guard--it was fast! Then the tail, unlooked for, snapped around and hooked his ankle--Trunks fell! 

The monster loomed over him for an instant, claws poised--and froze. A bloody hand emerged from the demon's chest; it was a slim, delicate hand, and it held the demon's heart. The hand squeezed, and the demon dissipated, its power broken. 

Trunks looked up, then scrambled to his feet. The owner of the hand was a compact, fierce-looking woman with short dark hair, wearing dark blue Saiyan armor with a red bodysuit and one yellow legging. The boy glanced at her waist--she had a tail. 

"You're a Saiyajin!" Trunks blurted, and then flushed. That was such a stupidly obvious thing to say! Especially to such a fierce-looking--and pretty--lady. Had he forgotten all his manners? 

The Saiyan woman smirked, and raised her eyebrows. "Now how would a human child know that?" 

Trunks scowled fiercedly. "I'M NOT HUMAN! I'm Saiyajin, too!" 

The woman put her hands on her hips. "With _that_ hair?" Her voice was skeptical. 

Trunks's hands balled up into fists. "I am Trunks Vegeta Briefs, the son of Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyajin!" 

Her eyes went wide, and she started to say something-- 

"I find that hard to believe," interrupted a man's voice. Trunks looked up; another Saiyajin, this one a tall, handsome warrior dressed in light blue armor floated down beside the woman. 

"Look at his face, Toma!" the woman hissed. "Ignore the hair; look at his face." 

Toma looked, and the mockery dropped away. "He has the prince's face." He frowned at the woman, not altogether seriously, and asked, "Why am I always the last to see these things, Celipa?" 

"Yes he does--don't feel bad, I didn't see it until the boy got angry and started yelling at me." Trunks was surprised to see Celipa _smile_ briefly at the other Saiyan--very briefly and furtively, as if smiling was not allowed here. 

"Well, that makes sense," he admitted. "Has anyone ever seen Prince Vegeta any other way?" 

"I have!" Trunks spoke up a bit sharply; these two were talking about his father as if Trunks wasn't even there! 

Celipa smirked. "He's certainly got the Prince's spirit!" The smirk dropped away. "But what is a living child doing _here_? Something is wrong, Toma.. very wrong." 

Toma nodded. "I know. Bardock needs to know--now." 

*      *      *      *

Goten found himself alone in a deep canyon--alone, and scared. Were there more monsters behind those rocks? Where was Trunks? Had he been blown to pieces? Where was Uncle Raditz? He had almost rescued them from the bad dinosaur! 

Goten thought about sitting down and waiting for Trunks to find him--like Daddy always said to do when he was lost--but the ground was slimy. Yecch! He couldn't sit his bottom down in _that_! Standing still didn't help, either--the nasty stuff just oozed over his bare toes. Ewwwww! 

Goten ran along the canyon floor, hopping from stone to stone, looking for Trunks. Maybe he was around that corner... No. Someone else was. Goten took one look at the familiar shape and spiky hair and ran forward. He was dressed differently than Goten had ever seen, but there was only one person it could be. 

"Daddy!" Goten bounded like a mountain goat from rock to rock in his eagerness--then "Daddy" turned to look at him. Goten stopped abruptly, skidded on the slime, and fell hard on his rear. 

"You're not Daddy!" the child yelled accusingly. Daddy did not have dark golden skin, and criss-crossed scars on his left cheek... 

The stranger who looked like Goku stared at Goten in astonishment. "A Saiyan child _here_? What vision is this--the future or the past? He is the very image of young Kakarott--but Kakarott is a grown man, now. How can this be?" 

"I'M NOT A BISION! I'M A GOTEN!" the child yelled indignantly. "What's a bision?" 

The familiar stranger's eyes widened. "You're real--and living! But.. who could be so cruel as to condemn a _child_ to this realm?" He took a step closer to Goten, who was struggling to his feet amid the slippery slime. 

"Of course I'm real!" Goten pouted indignantly, and then looked thoughtful as an idea struck him. He ran boldly up to the stranger, extended one finger, and poked him gently in the leg. Goten looked very surprised, as if he had expected to find nothing there. "You're fun!" he exclaimed. 

The man stared at Goten with an expression of bewilderment; then the faintest hint of a smile shadowed his lips. "It's been a long time since someone called me that, little one!" 

Goten stared up at him, puzzled. "You talk like N'Uncle Raditz!" He pointed, "And you've got a tail like Nunk Rats, too!" 

The man's eyes widened in shock. "What--How--How do you-- _Uncle_ Raditz?? You're Kakarott's child!" His brows furrowed. "But I thought you were older.. Raditz said you were about four, and that was many years ago, surely.." he trailed off, puzzled. 

Goten pursed his lips, thinking. "Gohan is twelve." The little boy counted on his fingers, and showed them to the man. "That's lots more than four!" He frowned at his hands. "Only I don't have enough fingers--that's only ten," Goten informed the stranger who seemed to know Nunk Rats. 

The stranger's eyes widened again, this time in understanding. "You're his little brother, aren't you? Two sons.. like father, like son." That ghost of a smile touched his lips again, and was gone, replaced by an expression of wonder. 

Goten looked at the oh-so-familiar stranger, and remembered something he'd been told. The little boy's eyes grew round. "You're my grandpa, aren't you? Grandpa Bardock?" 

Bardock nodded, too awed to speak. How did this child know him? He reached down and Goten held his arms up to his grandfather; Bardock picked up the little Saiyan boy, his.. grandson! He held the boy for a time in silence; he could not speak--his heart was too full. 

"Your face is hurt," Goten broke the silence, voicing concern as his finger traced the ancient scar on Bardock's cheek. 

"It's all right," he answered. "That happened a long time ago; it doesn't hurt anymore." Bardock held Goten away from him, looking at him. "Where's your tail?" 

Goten looked both confused and worried. "My tail? I'm supposed to have a tail?" 

"Of course--" Bardock started to answer, then frowned. "I don't know; your mother can't be Saiyan, so perhaps not." Bardock wasn't sure which disturbed him more about his grandson: the missing tail, or the idea that his mother, Kakarott's mate, was.. not Saiyan. An alien; a weak creature little better than an animal. 

Don't be an idiot, Bardock! The best part of Bardock lectured himself: look at this child--he is the very image of Kakarott, and sense his power--it is incredible! Whoever or whatever his mother is, she made Kakarott's blood--my blood--stronger! Even if he were not so strong.. he is _my_ grandson! 

Bardock drew Goten close to him again, setting the boy on his shoulder. Fierce pride, and something else filled him as he looked at the boy--I have been graced with a living son and grandsons; the Saiyajin live on! We did not go down into oblivion, we are not forgotten in the dust of history! 

"Grandpa?" Goten ventured, continuing as Bardock looked at him attentively. "How come you're fun? Nunk Rats--N'Uncle Raditz--" the boy carefully corrected himself, "said you died a long time ago." 

"First I will ask you a related question, because I know Raditz died before you were born, little one. How, then, can you talk to your uncle?" Bardock knew that Raditz had gone back to Earth as a ghost, and was curious to hear the child's answer. 

"Grandpa N'Oxking and Nunk Rats say I can see ghosts. I didn't know that. Nunk Rats wasn't fun, but Nan Bulma accidently wished him better, and now he's lots of fun!" 

"RADITZ IS ALIVE??" 

*      *      *      *

Raditz dozed fitfully while Sinhika made her preparations; apparently, opening a gate between Earth and Hell required more than a few words and a wave of the hand. It required several hours of mysterious rituals (Why had she gone from door to window to window of the small apartment and stroked every sill and jamb with herbs and steel?) and chanted prayers--which bored Raditz mindless to watch. He was tired, and hungry, and his other job, watching Kale, was even more pointless and boring--the ghost Saiyajin had vanished, unmanifesting with a Cheshire Cat smirk. Raditz scowled; he knew Kale well enough to predict trouble. Kale would bide his time until the gate opened... 

Gohan and Goku had a.. discussion about Gohan's part in this--Raditz couldn't call it an argument, Gohan was too obedient to openly argue with his father. Gohan sat dejectedly at one end of the couch; he would be staying behind to protect Sinhika. Goku had been adamant; his son would not follow him into Hell--something Raditz had quite agreed with. Hell was no place for children. 

Gohan didn't see it quite that way; being left behind when his father went into danger grated on him. Dad was treating him like a child! Why? Goku had all but forced Gohan to grow up during the Cell Game, and afterwards... Gohan had been the man of the house for the years Dad was gone. Why treat him like a child now? 

Goku, Raditz and Bulma had had an argument; she didn't care what Goku or Raditz said about the dangers or the horrors, Bulma was going after her son, and nothing and no one was going to stop her. Period. As she pointed out, she'd gone to Namek, stood with everyone when Freeza and King Cold arrived, and generally been mixed up with everything dangerous before and since--why, when _her son_ was involved, did anyone think she was going sit safely at home? 

She'd had unexpected support from Sinhika; the orange-haired Indian girl (as she appeared in front of Sean) took it as a personal affront that "the men", as she put it, thought it perfectly fine to go into danger for their children, but didn't take Bulma--a woman!--seriously when she was willing to face Hell itself for the sake of her son! 

The argument had ended when Raditz had sighed, and said, "Goku, it's not sheer power alone that matters in Hell; virtue and love make one stronger there, too. Bulma may well be in _less_ danger than anyone else except you, little brother." 

Bulma whirled to face Raditz. "Huh? Why did you spend so much time arguing with me, if that's the truth?" 

"Because Vegeta is going to kill me when he finds out that not only did I let his son get kidnapped by a demon and thrown into Hell, I let his wife that I'm supposed to _protect_ go to Hell after him!" Raditz shrugged helplessly; there was something in his expression that suggested it wasn't fear of Vegeta that drove him to protect Bulma. "On the other hand, I will be there as well, and the Prince can't kill me any deader for the one than the other, and.. Sinhika is right, damn it." Raditz clenched and unclenched his fists; the argument was over. 

Raditz dozed fitfully, and dreamed. He dreamed of his first mission, under then Subcommander Kale; he watched Kale kill the woman and child again--and woke up shuddering. In the nightmare, the woman and child had been Chichi and young Goten! 

Raditz dozed off again, and the nightmare resumed; it was the second nest, the one he'd cleared himself under Kale's supervision. As he slaughtered the inhabitants, he saw their faces--and every one of them was someone he knew: Lina, Nezumi, Mr. Hiregumi, Bulma, Dr. Briefs, Bulma's mother, Trunks, Ox King... He woke up, cold sweat beading on his forehead. Not again! 

For the next few hours, the long-haired Saiyan warrior dreamed of every world-clearing mission he'd ever been on, of every innocent creature he'd ever killed--and all of them were people he knew--and.. _cared_ about. He woke shaking as Sinhika made her final preparations. 

As the demon-girl burned incense and poured melted butter over a metal dish full of hot coals, Raditz stared at his hands and felt sick. Everyone he'd killed had been _someone's_ mother or father, son or daughter or lover. _Everyone_. They had all been people that someone cared about. They had all been _people_ \--and he, Raditz, was a butcher, a murderer on a scale that Earth's worst legends didn't dare imagine. Death and Hell had been his well-deserved fate. 

He'd known this in his head, of course--no one was ignorant of why they had been condemned to Hell!--but part of him had never really accepted it, had never really understood why squashing vermin was so terribly wrong. His heart had been at war with itself, that tiny, almost smothered part of it that had known from the beginning that he was murdering _people_ contending with the rest of his heart, that felt only contempt for weaklings and pride in his own Saiyan strength. 

His pride had been broken in Hell, when Raditz learned what it had cost him, what it had cost everyone--and what a foolish illusion it was. His contempt had been broken on Earth, where a child taught him about loving someone unconditionally, no matter how little he appeared to deserve it, and four humans taught him respect for more than mere strength. There was nothing left to keep the truth out of his heart, nothing at all. 

It was time to return to Hell. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XXVIII. INFERNO


	29. XXVIII. Inferno

## XXVIII. INFERNO

Sean looked around--the place was still a mess, but his unexpected guests didn't seem to mind. Three good-looking girls, three guys, one underage kid--and several evil-tempered spirits from Hell. "One hell of an earthquake party," Sean muttered, pushing the black hair back from his eyes. 

"It's time." Sinhika stepped out of the small studio room, looking tired. 

Goku and Bulma looked attentively at Sinhika; Raditz looked up slowly from where he'd been brooding. Once again, bleak resignation was written on his face as he rose from the couch. 

Nezumi did not like that look. "Excuse me," she said, tapping Raditz on the elbow. "I'd like to talk to you for a moment.. privately.. _before_ you leave." She nodded her head toward the tiny bedroom. 

Raditz stared at her for a moment, and then followed without a word. 

Nezumi faced him in Sean's small bedroom -- and found that her boldness had left her. "Raditz.. I.." Damn it, girl! This is important, quit stammering like a school girl! Nezumi gathered her courage, and stepped close to the big Saiyajin. 

"..After what you tried to do in the quarry.." Nezumi frowned up at him, and put her hands on his chest. "Don't try something like that again. Ever! When you find the kids, you _will_ come back with them, understand?" 

Raditz flushed. "What? Woman--" 

Nezumi glared at him. "Don't you 'woman' me! You weren't going to come back, were you?" she accused. "Don't you dare!" Nezumi pointed back in the other room, "Do you really want to hurt them that much?" 

It's now or never, girl! She took a deep breath, reached up and grabbed a length of hair on each side of his face, forcing him to face her. "Do you really want to hurt _me_ that much?" 

Raditz's eyes widened. In the quarry, when she stood between me and Piccolo.. that was no fluke. I thought she was.. attracted to me, but this! She.. It's more than.. She has no idea! 

He looked down at her anxious face and tender brown eyes. How many women on how many planets begged their lovers to return to them--just before they died fighting the Saiyajin? (Why am I thinking of Nezumi and 'lover' in the same thought?) _How many young women like Nezumi_ _have I killed??_

Raditz gripped Nezumi by her shoulders and snarled, "Forget it! You don't know what I am!" 

Nezumi scowled fiercely up at him. "You're wrong, Raditz! I don't know what you did, I don't know what you used to be, but I most certainly do know what you _are_! You are a man who would sacrifice his life and go to _Hell_ to save two small children who aren't even yours! If you don't know what that means, you are absolutely the most clueless idiot I have ever met!" 

Raditz flushed again. "Someone else said that to me, long ago," he muttered. "You sound just like her." He looked past Nezumi's angry scowl and saw the tears gathering in her big brown eyes. What is this woman doing to me?? And why does she remind me so much of Luki? 

"So be it. I will do my best--and that's all I can promise; it's a dangerous place." 

Nezumi wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "Your best is all I'm asking for. Promise?" 

"I promise." He bowed his head as she rose on the tips of her toes; their lips almost touched--- 

BANG! Something exploded with a crash in the outer room, and voices were raised in anger. Raditz spun around to find out what the danger was, and the moment was gone. 

*      *      *      *

"You know, I'm damn glad you people showed up when you did.. Considering what's next, anyone care for a drink?" Sean held up a bottle of whiskey and waved a pair of shot glasses around. 

"After what I've been through tonight.. one shot wouldn't hurt." Bulma sighed as Sean handed her a drink. 

"Sure." Sean poured himself another shot and tossed it down-- 

"Thank you, Sean.. or should I say, VirtualBlack?" Bulma sipped the whiskey gingerly, staring at him cooly. 

Sean nearly choked on the whiskey and came up sputtering. His eyes snapped open wide. "YOU! You're the sysadmin at Capsule Corp, aren't you? You're the one that wiped my computer!" 

"I don't know how you jumped to that wild conclusion.." Bulma tossed her blue hair back, "..but you're right." Bulma slammed the shotglass down and put her hands on her hips. "And _you_ are the little sneak who stole files out of our computers and tried to blackmail me!" 

"Huh?" Sean stared at her in confusion. "When did I try to blackmail you?" 

Bulma leveled an accusing finger at him. "Don't deny that you cracked through our security and then demanded a payoff to fix it! If that isn't blackmail, what is it?" 

Sean's eyebrows went up. "Marketing? Lady, I didn't create those security holes--I just proved that they existed, to show you that you needed someone who knew security on the payroll, and then offered my services! Since when is trying to get a job blackmail??" 

"Oh." Bulma looked sheepish, and then indignant again. "What about stealing my files?" 

"Okay, okay, I shouldn't have done that--but you pissed me off with your answer, and one of your competitors was offering good money for company secrets. I didn't even sell your files to them--I did it just to prove that I could if I wanted to." Sean sulked. "You didn't have to trash all my files." 

"I didn't," she answered. "I copied them. You have some interesting tastes in artwork." 

He looked at her abruptly. "You've seen them!" 

Bulma nodded. "'Wolfslayer' and 'Game of Demon Kings'. Where did you get the ideas for those pictures?" She tried to keep the question casual, but her voice was taut with hidden excitement. 

Sean eyed her, one eyebrow raised. "Same place I got the idea for the painting in the other room, the one that's caused all this excitement--in dreams." He poured another shot and tossed it down. "Dreams that won't leave me alone until I express them somehow." The young man in black regarded Bulma thoughtfully. "Now answer a question of mine--who is the demon prince in those pictures? Why does he haunt me? I think you who he is." 

A soft hiss of indrawn breath. "The 'demon prince', as you call him, is my husband Vegeta." 

The bottle of whiskey exploded. 

"WHAT??" Commander Kale manifested abruptly, glaring balefully at Bulma. "You lie! The Prince would never sully his royal blood with.. with a lower creature like you!" 

Bulma clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "'LOWER CREATURE'?? I'm a hell of a lot higher than an ill-mannered beast like you! I'll bet you're just jealous because no decent Saiyan girl would 'sully her blood'--or her reputation--with you!" 

Kale blanched with shock; his eyes widened, then narrowed with anger. 

"Uh, Bulma," Goku said from across the room, slightly worried... 

Sean stared at the shattered bottle, and the bleeding cuts where glass shards had stuck in his hand. 

"You.. son.. of.. a.. bitch." Sean said slowly, a terrible, quiet fury in his voice. "That was my last bottle of Tennessee sipping whiskey." He raised his eyes to glare at the evil ghost. "You come here, you try to murder me, you destroy my stuff, you insult one of my guests in front of my face, and YOU RUINED A PERFECTLY GOOD BOTTLE OF WHISKEY! I've had it with you--and I don't recall inviting you here, SO GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOME!" 

_Something_ long pent up burst forth--Kale slammed into the front door of the apartment and was held there, pinned by an invisible force. Heads snapped up; all three Saiyajin had sensed it. Kale's face twisted into a grimace of pain as the Saiyajin ghost tried to pull himself free, and failed. 

"Sean, could you kindly _not_ blow Kale clean through the wards I just laid?" Sinhika stood in the doorway of the small studio, still looking a bit tired and somewhat annoyed. "Sean? Hello? Sean! SEAN!" 

Sean started, and Kale collapsed, no longer pinned to the door. "What did I do?" the artist said, slightly confused. The ghost Saiyajin got to his feet, shook himself, and vanished with a scowl. 

"You tried to throw him out--he's an evil spirit, you didn't invite him, you're the 'owner' of this dwelling..." she shrugged. "All it took was will, and boom! He would have been out the door--except for my wards. I laid those to keep anything that emerged from that painting from getting loose in the rest of the world--he counts." 

Sean gaped at the demon-girl. "You mean I could have thrown him out the whole time?" She nodded. "He nearly killed me!" 

"You didn't know," Sinhika said. "I bet you never actually commanded him to leave, did you?" 

Sean blinked. "Uh, no. It never occurred to me." 

"There you go." Sinhika tossed her orange hair back, and stood with her hands on her hips. 

"I'm not sure I understand," commented Goku, looking slightly puzzled. 

"It makes perfect sense to me," growled Raditz, a bit testy at the interruption. "Forget that Kale's a Saiyajin--he's an 'evil' spirit from Hell; the usual powers affect him." 

"You mean like those charms against evil spirits that Mom and Ox-King hang over all the doors and windows at home? Those would work on him?" Gohan asked. 

"Yep." Raditz smirked. "The _only_ reason I could enter your house when I was a ghost was because _Ox-King gave me his permission_ \--and that would not have been enough if I had been an enemy." 

Goku smiled. "I understand now." He looked at Sinhika, who was standing expectantly in the doorway. "Are we--?" 

"Yes," she answered. "Everything's ready for the final invocation; prepare yourselves." 

*      *      *      *

Kale watched the final preparations as he paced back and forth, invisible and immaterial, a ghost. The demon-girl had trapped him; he could neither escape nor return. The others, yes--he sent them back, to warn the King that he would soon have unexpected visitors at court. He could not return, not until the King's curse was fulfilled: "Make sure whatever opened the gate doesn't ever do it again!" 

Thanks to the demon-girl's magic, he couldn't leave this place, either--not that Kale had ever intended to abandon his king and his duty. There was little chance he could carry out his duty, now that that wretched human artist knew how to cast Kale out of his dwelling--a humiliation the weakling would pay dearly for if ever he came to Hell. 

Still.. Kale's eyes narrowed as he thought. There were two possibilities, and one was stupid--marooning several living, non-evil souls in Hell was _not_ something the King would appreciate--dead souls who didn't belong in Hell had been quite enough of a problem. But the other option.. 

Raditz was correct; his orders didn't say to kill the artist of the rift. Let someone higher than Kale stand in judgment of the young man's life; Kale would just make sure he painted no more pictures in the meantime. 

*      *      *      *

Brakes squealed as the car stopped abruptly, just short of crashing into the police barricade. The dead man got out of the car as the police officer hurried toward him. The black leather coat flapped open in the breeze. 

"You can't go into the city--only emergency vehicles are allowed-- Oh my God!" The cop froze, a look of horror on his face as he got a good look at the dead man. Terrible wounds gaped beneath the loosely flapping coat; loops of intestine hung out of the dead man's slashed and gutted belly. The officer knew the man had to be dead; no one could live like that--nor should he walk. 

The dead man grinned unpleasantly; in a flash too fast for the policeman to see, it had him by the throat. Two other policeman came running up, guns drawn. 

The dead man turned his head. "Children of Darkness, take them!" He rasped in a whisper. The shadows of the night took shape, and swallowed the other men. 

The policeman's struggles grew weaker and weaker until he hung limp in the dead man's grasp. Still the dead man did not let go, but held him as he withered and shrank. At last the dead man threw down what had once been a strong young man, but now was nothing more than withered, dried skin over brittle, dry bones. 

"Better," he whispered to himself. The dead man looked himself over; the gaping wounds were partially healed, and his entrails no longer spilled down. _That_ had been quite an annoyance while driving. "Half a lung.. I need more than that. Yessss.. one of these cattle is still alive. Children, enough! Go and play until I need you anon!" The dead man's eyes glowed crimson. 

The shadows withdrew, revealing one frozen corpse, and one shivering, whimpering man, wide-eyed with terror. The dead man knelt beside him, smiling hideously. 

"You'll do," he rasped. 

*      *      *      *

Up and up Vegeta flew, Mogris trailing in his wake. He spiralled up the infinite waterfall, where Styx plunged through the barrier of Time. He could not say whether the journey took hours or centuries, for there was no Time in this place. At last, soaked with spray, he passed back into History, back into the Seventh Hour of Night. 

"Finally!" Prince Vegeta looked around, pondering the lore Prince Khara had briefed him on so long ago. Upstream, the Stygian Nile quickened as it rushed toward the great waterfall; downstream, the riverbed was dry, all of its flow diverted into the waterfall. Along the banks, strange gods gathered beams and girders and caissons; plans to repair the hole in the floor of Night were evidently in progress. 

The shortest path back to Earth should be to follow Ra's path from the Cave of the Dawn... Vegeta flew downstream, following the dry riverbed. In the Ninth Hour, he slowed down, daunted by the fiery glow and intense heat ahead. He squinted, peering ahead under shaded hand. A great golden riverboat rested on the dry river bottom, stranded by the loss of the Nile. Within stood a brightness too intense for Vegeta to look at directly. 

" _Kuso_! The Sun is stranded--I can't follow him out of the Night--and I can't pass him!" Vegeta turned back toward the Seventh Hour just as Mogris caught up to him. 

"What did I miss?" 

"Eternal Night. The Sun can't rise as long as the river pours through that damned hole!" Vegeta snarled as he flew back to the Seventh Hour. 

He alighted facing a pair of gods who were consulting a sheaf of blueprints. One, a powerfully-built bull-headed man with long straight horns turned his head toward Vegeta. The other, an ibis-headed scribe who was making marks here and there on the blueprints, only turned his eyes for a moment. 

Prince Vegeta raked through his mind for Khara's lecture on the gods of Egypt. The bull-god was Khnum, the Builder; the ibis should be Thoth, Scribe and Sorceror. Vegeta stared at the ibis-god. 

"Which one of you two can tell me when this hole will be fixed?" 

Thoth finally lifted his head to look directly at Vegeta. "Possibly never, if the serpent continues to interfere. He will not be slain until Bast comes, and she will not come until Ra reaches the Dawn--which will not happen until the Nile flows in its rightful bed." 

"What serpent?" asked Mogris. 

"That serpent," pointed Khnum. 

Prince Vegeta turned; Apep the Night Serpent reared its head from the hole in the riverbed, black scales glistening. 

"Oh, _that_ Serpent!" Vegeta sneered disdainfully. 

*      *      *      *

Where in all this devastation is Sinhika? Prince Khara worried as he flew invisibly over darkened streets and rubble. Was she all right? From what he'd seen, humans were still as ignorant as ever about their kind, and he had no fears for her from _them_ , but.. If she had been caught in a falling building and crushed.. Khara could never forgive himself if she'd come to harm--he was supposed to _protect_ his younger sister, not abandon her to her own devices in a disaster area! 

Think; you are a prince of Lankha and a scholar. You had her address; there is no sign of her anywhere near the ruins of her apartment--therefore, she is somewhere else. But where, and why? Three things could send her elsewhere--duty, friendship, physical necessity. Her dwelling was in ruins--necessity demands she must shelter elsewhere--among friends. Prince Khara did not feel the pull of duty, so that could be dismissed. All he need do was find which friends still had suitable shelter, and he should find Sinhika... Where then, were her friends? 

Khara sighed. It seemed he must do some labor with his own hands, searching for clues in the remains of her apartment. Perhaps the neighbors might know something, if any remained? 

A sound caught his attention as he pondered, the sound of a crying child. What? Prince Khara rose into the air, and drifted in the direction of the sound. 

No; not a crying child, a screaming child--a little girl who ran screaming in mad terror down the street, running from.. darkness. A wave of deeper darkness that not even Khara's emerald eyes could pierce flowed over the rubble after the child. As she ran over the broken rubble the inevitable happened: she fell, and the darkness closed in. 

" _Ashubhaam aadhyaatmikuum andhakaara_! A darkness elemental, here?" Prince dropped to the ground, drawing the bejeweled hand-and-half sword his father gave him long ago. It flashed with his power as he appeared, standing between the fallen girl and the onrushing darkness. 

Once, twice, thrice the great blade flashed, and the darkness parted with an inhuman shriek. Only the calm night remained. Khara turned to check on the girl. 

She stared wide-eyed at the tall, emerald-eyed Indian prince in his turban and long brocaded coat. "Who are you?" she asked in awed tones. 

He bowed politely. "I am Prince Khara of Lankha. And who are you, and where are your parents?" 

"I'm Miko, and.. and.. that monster attacked my mommy!" Her blue eyes began to fill with tears. 

Khara frowned slightly. "Where is your mother, child? She may need help, quickly!" 

Miko nodded, and ran back the way she came, Prince Khara striding quickly after. 

*      *      *      *

In Hell, another child talked to his rescuer. Bardock listened, continually bemused, interjecting a question now and then, as Goten chattered on and on. As he flew along the canyon looking for the rest of his team, the warrior got an earful about Daddy (Kakarott, of course), Nunk Rats (Raditz, apparently), Mommy, Trunks, Nan Bulma (Trunks' mother), Gohan (his older brother), Grandpa N'Ox King, the "Bad Dinosaur" (some kind of demon) that had kidnapped him, and some large, powerful demon that Raditz had defeated or nearly been killed by, possibly both--Goten was a bit confusing on that topic. 

Goten was a bit confusing on _every_ topic, but it was enough to know that both his sons were alive--and that Bardock need no longer be ashamed of his firstborn son. Whatever Raditz was doing, he seemed to have reconciled with his younger brother, and this little one admired him and looked up to him--his son could have no better witness. 

"..and Daddy trained Nunk Rats and Trunks and--" Goten broke off, looking worried. "We've got to find Trunks! He got lost when it went BOOM!" 

"Your friend Trunks is _here_??" Bardock started out of his reverie; he'd only been half-listening. 

Goten pouted; Grandpa Bardock was as bad as Daddy about not paying attention! "Trunks fighted the bad monsters, and something went BOOM! An' I went bounce! Where'd Trunks go?" 

"We will find him," Bardock promised, arcing above the canyon toward the recently blasted crater that had obliterated half the Pit of Worms region. Yes! There were Celipa and Toma, as he had sensed. Panboukin and Totepo were much further away, and busy, Bardock sensed. But who was Celipa carrying, and why had she removed her armor? He descended to meet them. 

"TRUNKS!" Goten yelled jubiliantly past Bardock's ear. The boy waved frantically at the figure in Celipa's arms, who seemed to be wearing Celipa's body armor. 

"Bardock! You found one, too!" Toma exclaimed, wide-eyed at the sight of the child in Bardock's arms. Bardock stared at the purple-haired boy holding onto Celipa's neck. The purple-haired boy stared boldly back at him, albeit with some confusion. 

"Why is he wearing your armor, Celipa?" Bardock wondered; what was it about the boy? There was something vaguely familiar about his face... 

"It wouldn't do for the King's grandson to be running around in nothing but his underwear." Celipa smirked at Bardock's astonishment. 

"The King's gra-- He's Prince Vegeta's son?" 

No wonder that face looked familiar! But that.. _hair_! He must have gotten it from his mother, who must be.. not Saiyan. Human. But.. the Prince? With a weakling non-Saiyan female? The Prince??? 

There were no Saiyan women left, you idiot! Bardock rebuked himself. Still.. it disturbed him. He'd excused Kakarott in his own mind long ago--his son could hardly be blamed if he'd lost all memory of his own race and didn't even know he wasn't one of the locals! But.. the Prince? He knew exactly what he was doing when he took some woman of Earth for his mate! 

Bardock glanced at Goten, who was telling Trunks-- _Prince_ Trunks!--about his new grandfather. Goten _had_ talked about Trunks, and said his mother was "Nan Bulma"--but had not mentioned Trunks' father. 

"He's your grandfather?" Trunks' eyes were wide as he looked at Bardock, with something that looked disturbingly like respect. "You are Goku-san's father?" 

Yes, his tone was definitely respectful! That wasn't right--a Vegeta prince did not defer to a low-class warrior! Even if Bardock was no longer really a low-class warrior. 

"Yes, young prince." To his surprise, Trunks made a wry face, and sighed. 

"That's what Raditz-san did when he first showed up--he called me 'young prince' all the time." Trunks looked slightly smug as he continued, "but Mom made him stop that. She says it gives me a bad attitude. I think she meant that I started talking back and getting in trouble too much, 'cause she only tells me I've got a bad attitude right after I get in trouble." The purple-haired boy looked sheepish. 

Bardock smiled ever so slightly. Whatever the boy's lineage, he reminded Bardock more of his own son Raditz than the long grown Prince Vegeta--not that he'd ever had any real contact with the prince during his life. A strong mother, a fierce, proud father, and a boy with a nose for trouble--as all boys have. 

He noticed Celipa quickly cover her mouth with her free hand--suppressing a giggle. But there was also a certain sorrow in her eyes, and Toma hovered protectively near. Bardock sighed quietly to himself--he knew his teammates, his _friends_ well enough, alive or dead. To hold and protect the Saiyan child was a bittersweet joy for her, that renewed her unending grief for the children she and Toma never lived to have. 

"Bardock." Toma was serious, as serious as Bardock had ever seen him. "What are we going to do with them? Living children, innocents, _here_.. something is terribly wrong. This is.." The tall handsome Saiyajin was at a loss for words. 

"This is an abomination," Bardock stated flatly. A certain implacable determination entered his eyes and voice. "They _must_ be sent back, to the living world--and we will make sure of it. Whoever, or whatever did this will pay for this perversion of reality and justice--fate is not kind to those who mock it, and justice even less." He smiled wickedly, in anticipation. "And if we Saiyajin reach them first.." 

Toma and Celipa smiled evilly as well. "Don't be greedy and keep them to yourself, Bardock," Celipa half-mocked. "Share the 'fun'." Her voice was mocking, but a cold fury burned behind her eyes, fury at whoever would consign a child to Hell. 

"Haven't I always?" Bardock asked. 

"Always," answered Toma. "Anything any one of has asked for, you have given." He smiled ever so slightly at his leader. 

"Save once," Bardock said, his mood changing abruptly, regret in his voice and eyes. "The most important thing you asked for.. I could not give you." 

"Let it go, Bardock! I asked you for the impossible! Will you continue to condemn yourself because you did not have the power of a god? I do not--I _cannot_ hold it against you; why do you still hold it against yourself that you could not save Vegetasai?" 

"Because I failed to keep my promise to a dying friend." 

"And you know I forgave you _that_ a long time ago!" Toma sighed. "Then keep a new promise to your dead friend..." 

Bardock looked sharply at him. "What?" 

"Promise me you will forgive yourself, old friend. Let it go." Toma spoke softly. 

Bardock closed his eyes briefly. "I will--when we no longer pay the price of my failure. When we are free of Hell." 

"Hell?" Goten squeaked, and suddenly threw his arms around his grandfather's neck and hugged tight, screaming and crying hysterically. "HELL?? AAAAAHHHHHH! I DIDN'T MEAN TO BE BAD! GRANDPA, TELL MOMMY I'M SORRY!!! I DIDN'T MEAN TO--" 

"GOTEN!" Bardock's voice cracked authoritatively even as he held the terrified little boy close, ruffling his hair and comforting him. "Stop yelling and listen to me!" 

"Grandpa?" The combination of comfort and firm authority stopped Goten's hysteria cold. He looked up at his grandfather's face, scared, yet trusting the Saiyan warrior completely. 

"Good, you're listening. Little one, it is not your fault you are here--the one who sent you here did a very evil thing; so very evil that even the demons of Hell would not do it. _You do not belong_ _here!_ Do you understand that?" 

Goten nodded mutely, tears beginning to dry. 

"Second, you are a Saiyajin, and Saiyajin do not scream and carry on like wailing banshees! If a Saiyajin is afraid--and don't let anyone convince you that Saiyajin never feel fear!--he keeps it to himself, so that his fear does not shame him and dishearten his comrades." 

"Banshee?" whispered Toma to Celipa. 

"Female psychopomp demon from Earth's borderlands--has the most ungodly loud screech imaginable," Celipa whispered back. 

"Third, we will do our very best to get you and Trunks home. I promise you that, Goten son of my son Kakarott, on my honor as Saiyan warrior and by my blood which runs in your veins." He looked at Toma, Celipa and Trunks, who was pale and trembling in Celipa's arms. 

"We're going back to the palace," Bardock said. "If the gods do watch over innocent children, and if Kale's bad luck has run true to form, then that rift is still open. That may be the children's one chance to get home alive. Toma, Celipa--let's go." 

*      *      *      *

Where a painting had rested on an easel, there was now a hole in the air. Sean thought it looked like a picture window had been installed in mid-air: a rectangular, frameless window three times the size of his original painting that looked down into the infernal throne room. The view was crystal clear--it had none of the flatness or blurriness of a painting. Hot air with a stench of sulfur and things long dead blew out of the opening. 

Sean stepped back, giving the others plenty of room. Raditz studied the opening for several minutes, and turned to Goku. 

"They're expecting us; see how tense the guards are, and how they keep glancing at the gate while never staring directly at it? Kale must have warned them." 

"They might be just worried about it in general, and not expecting us specifically," Goku countered. 

"Either way, we may have to fight our way through them." Raditz grinned at his brother. "Ready, little brother?" 

"Ready!" Goku dove gracefully through the opening, followed by Raditz. 

"HEY! DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME BEHIND!" Bulma yelled, and jumped through the opening. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XXIX. CONVERGING PATHS


	30. XXIX. Converging Paths

## XXIX. CONVERGING PATHS

"GOKUUUUU!" Bulma screamed as she realized two things: one, the rift opened a good fifty feet above the throne room floor, and two, no one was holding her! 

Goku turned, and, faster than Bulma could see, caught her. "Oops! I guess I forgot about carrying you." He smiled sheepishly. 

Bulma glared at him and at Raditz's back. "Hmmph! I'll bet you two were just trying to sneak out and leave me behind!" 

Raditz concentrated on the three Saiyajin who'd flown up to meet them, poised for combat. He smirked knowingly--he recognized the leader. 

"PREPARE TO DIE, MORTALS! It is forbidden for the living to-- RADITZ?? What in Hell's name are you doing here? ALIVE??" The foremost warrior, a broad-shouldered Saiyajin with a remarkable resemblance to Goku broke off in mid-speech, shocked. His eyes grew even wider when he looked at black-haired Goku. "The Super Saiyajin!" 

Raditz's smirk widened into a wicked grin. "So Kale didn't warn you just _who_ was coming through, did he? Did he at least tell you _why_ we're here, Turles?" 

Turles regained his composure. "What? Kale hasn't told anyone anything--he can't. The King forbade him to return until Kale closed that rift for good! His squad second told us someone would be coming through." He looked Goku up and down. "So you're my young cousin Kakarott, the Super Saiyajin!" 

"My name," Goku gritted his teeth, "is Son Goku!" 

"Give it up, little brother; you'll never convince every single Saiyajin to call you by your Earth name--not unless Prince Vegeta gets hit on _his_ head, and starts calling you 'Goku'," Raditz commented dryly. 

"Wait a minute!" Bulma interrupted. "You're saying that Kale is still back in Sean's apartment? Sean's in danger!" 

"It's too late to worry about that," Raditz said. "Gohan and the demon-girl will have to handle him themselves. They know his secret." 

Turles glared at the blue-haired woman held by Goku, and then at Goku and Raditz in turn. "Why are you here, then? You know better than to come here in the body! And who is this woman?" 

"We're here," said Son Goku, "to find my son and her son! If you have them, give them back!" 

"WHAT??" Turles' eyes widened with shock; the two other warriors also looked shocked. 

"You heard him," Raditz growled. "My nephew, and her son," the long-maned Saiyajin jerked a thumb toward Bulma, "were thrown bodily into Hell by one evil bastard of a demon. The demon is dead; we don't think the kids are, and we're here to get them back. If you think we're violating a few rules, what are the rules on INNOCENT MORTAL CHILDREN being sent to HELL??" 

Turles hovered motionless, shocked into silence for a long moment. "Trava!" He snapped at the warrior to his left. "Inform the King!" 

"At once, Commander!" So saying, the lower-ranking warrior darted away and down. 

"Come," ordered Turles. "We will wait on the King." He dropped down before the empty throne, and looked back, plainly expecting them to follow. 

"Raditz, we don't have time for this!" Goku said quietly in his brother's ear. "I mean, it's really interesting to meet my relatives and all, but--" 

Raditz cut him off with a slashing move of his hand and answered back just as quietly, "King Vegeta is also the Duke Infernal of this Hell.. _If_ he's willing to help us, it will save us a lot of time and trouble. Little brother--I know what I'm talking about; trust me." With that, he dropped down beside Turles; after a moment, Goku followed, still carrying Bulma, whom he set down. 

Bulma stood on her own two feet and smoothed out the borrowed blouse she was wearing. Black wasn't her favorite color, but she supposed she ought to be happy that Sean had something around his apartment in her size, or she'd still be in her nightshirt. Bulma couldn't help but wonder about his ex-girlfriend, though--the black jeans were fine, but some of the _other_ clothes she'd declined.. Yiiiiee! 

Goku and Bulma looked around while they waited, taking in everything. "So this is just like the King's palace on Vegetasai?" Bulma asked. 

"Yes," Raditz said. He wished the two of them would stop gawking and rubbernecking like tourists; it was embarassing. On the other hand, Turles and most of the guards were giving Goku surreptious curious looks--they were trying to look professional and not stare, while at the same time staring in curiousity at the legendary Super Saiyajin. 

He turned to Turles and in a low voice said, "You're quiet--you have not said a word yet about how things would have been different if you had gone on that scouting mission instead of me. That used to be your favorite topic." 

Turles' dark eyes flicked toward Raditz, and the barest hint of a smirk crossed his face. "You haven't forgotten anything, have you? I'm surprised; it is said the living do not remember death." 

Behind the smirk, Raditz saw something else in Turles' dark eyes, desperate need and dead hope--and he knew all too well what Turles longed hopelessly for. Raditz had spent eight years of eternity with the same desperate need and hopelessness. 

"A lot of things are said that aren't true. What changed, cousin?" 

"I learned the answer to my question," the dead warrior said. "Lord Enma granted me the boon of seeing what would have happened if I had not done Bardock the favor of sending you on that scouting mission, but had gone myself." 

"And?" Raditz raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious. 

"It was not.. good. Even though I would have survived the destruction of Vegetasai.." Turles sighed. "You would have survived anyway, since you would have been sent with Nappa to guard Vegeta, and I would have found that damn Doom Tree of yours... and died trying to use it." 

" _Use it??_ I don't even want to know how you could _use_ a world-destroying monstrosity like that!" Raditz exclaimed. 

Turles smirked. "You yourself found out the properties of the fruit--imagine the thing taking root in a truly fertile world instead of some desert moon. A world like.. Earth." 

After a long silence, Raditz finally answered, "Some things are not good to imagine." 

"Heh. Yes. Kakarott would have killed me, and destroyed the Tree; after that it would have been.. worse. I do not understand the connection, but because the Namek Piccolo lived, Vegeta died, and Kakarott would not have been strong enough to fight Frieza. The last of the Saiyajin would have died when Frieza destroyed Earth; Frieza would have won." Turles fell silent for a moment. "I no longer regret doing that favor for Bardock." 

But there is so much else you do regret, Raditz knew. So much.. as do I. But I.. I see both sides of it now, and I regret it twice over; once for myself, and once for those I wronged. I think you are still spared that, cousin. 

The sound of echoing footsteps caught Raditz's attention; the black-bearded chamberlain Kosho strode into the vast hall, followed closely by two taller Saiyajin. 

"All kneel before the King!" proclamed the chamberlain as King Vegeta took his throne, and Sullion, his shield man, stood at his left hand. 

All knelt before the King; all, except Goku. He remained standing, staring curiously at the Saiyan king. Tall, broad-shouldered, bearded--but for all that, his face and hair were distinctly Vegeta's. 

"Wow! You really are Vegeta's father!" 

Kosho, who was watching from his place in the shadows to the left of the throne, cringed visibly. Turles glanced quickly around, confirming that he was not in the line of fire between Kakarott and the King; Raditz's tail twitched nervously. Even Bulma rolled her eyes in resigned disgust at Goku's homespun manners. King Vegeta furrowed his brow in anger, at first; as he studied Kakarott's open, innocent face he calmed slightly. The idiot--extremely powerful idiot, the King reminded himself--intended no insult. An odd look, almost of recognition was crossing Kakarott's face as the King answered. 

"You are Kakarott, the Super-Saiyajin who defeated Frieza!" The King waved his hand, indicating to the others that they could rise. "Why did you come here? Did you not know that your life is forfeit?" Anger and something else turned his voice into a harsh snarl. 

Goku's eyes narrowed and his face was at once serious; his resemblance to Turles was suddenly obvious and pronounced. "Didn't Turles's messenger tell you? I'm here to get my son and Bulma's son back!" 

"A _child_ in Hell? A _living_ child??" King Vegeta rose from his throne, angrier still. "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?" He glared at the four in front of him. 

"Two children: my son Goten, and Bulma's son." Goku clenched his fists, and explained briefly about the demon kidnapping the children, the ritual they interrupted, and the demon's terrible revenge. 

King Vegeta scowled, and clenched his own fists angrily. "You have come for your son, that I understand" --the tone of his voice was passionately angry, touched with remembered pain-- "and the woman looks for her son, but why are you here, Raditz? Why forfeit the gift of life you have received?" 

Raditz bowed. "It was--and is--my duty to protect Bulma and her son, my king." 

The king's eyes narrowed again. "But you were sent back _at my son's_ _request_ to protect.." King Vegeta's eyes widened suddenly, and he turned abruptly to Bulma. 

"YOU!" He snarled, "You are Prince Vegeta's mate, and your child is.. is _my grandson_!" The Saiyan King glared balefully at her. "But you.. you are not Saiyajin, you are weak.. pathetic.." 

"EXCUUSE ME!" Bulma hands were on her hips; she glared angrily at the Saiyan king. "Prince Vegeta doesn't find me all that weak, and I wouldn't start calling other people pathetic if I were you--being the ghost king of a dead world whose subjects are ALL ghosts IMPRISONED IN HELL isn't exactly something to boast about!" 

With a snarl of rage, King Vegeta summoned and flung a ball of ki straight at Bulma... 

Paaft.. BOOM! Almost lazily, Goku stretched his hand out and flicked the king's attack up and away, to explode somewhere near the high, cavernous ceiling. Gravel and dust showered down. 

Bulma paled and shrank back behind Goku; Raditz stepped up behind her and watched Turles and the other Guardsman suspiciously. 

"Our children--that's _all_ that matters here," Goku reminded King Vegeta and Bulma. 

"Then go and find them! I will not stop you," King Vegeta growled. "It is a fool's quest--even if you find them, you still will not leave Hell alive!" 

"We'll see," Goku smiled that certain way he always did before a good fight. White power rose around him, enveloped him; he picked up Bulma and hurtled after Raditz. 

Once clear of the palace, Goku glanced over at his brother. "You feel them, don't you?" 

"I can sense Goten, definitely," Raditz answered. "But this place.. direction, distance is all wrong from what you know, little brother. Be careful of trusting your senses here." He glanced at Goku. "Can't you sense them?" 

"I think so," the younger Saiyajin answered, his face drawn as if in pain. "But there is so much evil ki here.. they stand out, only a few ki even as good as you were, but it hurts to look for them." 

"Yeah. Welcome to Hell, little brother." 

*      *      *      *

The dead man abandoned the stolen car again--it was the fourth or fifth he'd hotwired and taken, driven until rubble blocked his path, then abandoned. He was close to his goal--somewhere in the heart of the city, his enemies had vanished from his senses. He stood and looked around, senses tingling. Somewhere nearby there was a great power, well-hidden, and a strange disturbance. 

Finally he looked up--and spotted it. Or rather, spotted _him_. The alien Piccolo hovered above one of the few unruined buildings downtown. The dead man narrowed crimson eyes; how convenient of his enemies to leave this sentinel, announcing their presence! 

Piccolo was too powerful for him to face; he must be careful to avoid the alien's notice. He crooked his finger, and summoned the Children of Darkness again. They came eagerly to his command, ready for new victims. The dead man frowned; one was missing. He shrugged; no matter, it was one of the weaker ones. 

Chaos and darkness set foot on the stairs to Hell. 

*      *      *      *

Sean glanced at Nezumi, Gohan, and Sinhika in turn. They were all engrossed in the scene unfolding before them, as Raditz and Goku faced the other Saiyajin. Sound carried faintly through the rift, so they could even hear the louder parts of the conversation. A hot wind continued to blow out of the rift. The artist shivered. 

"Sin, is it my imagination, or is that rift really wide-open between here and there?" 

"All things physical and spiritual go through; I had to make the gate two-way, or they wouldn't be able to return," the demon-girl answered. Only one may open such a gate, my innocent lover--and not a mere mortal demon such as myself. Be happy you do not understand the sacred tongue and do not know whom I invoked--nor that He answered! Destiny moves this night: the Creator rests, the Preserver acts, the Destroyer waits. 

"Wonderful. My apartment is now the antechamber to Hell." He reached for the whiskey bottle before remembering that Kale had destroyed it. "I wonder if that violates my lease?" 

Sinhika looked thoughtful for a moment. "It probably violates any clauses on tenant remodeling without permission of the owner, and might touch on the single-occupancy clause." 

"Only if something moves in--oh, right, something already has." Sean rolled his eyes from side to side theatrically. "Um, this may be a stupid question, but what keeps anyone else from over there from moving in and subletting the place?" 

"That's Gohan's job, and yours, and, to a lesser extent, mine," the dusky orange-haired girl answered. 

Sean stared suspiciously at Gohan; the long-haired kid stared back at him quizzically. "No offense, kid, but aren't you a bit young for the job? Back when I went to middle school, 'Demon Hunting 101' just wasn't on the curriculum." 

Gohan folded his arms and looked smug. "I'm strong for my age." 

"Yeah, right. I'll take your word for it. Okay, so how is it _my_ job, too? I'm not a martial artist, or a demon, or whatever--I'm just a guy." The young man in black folded his arms and scowled, black hair drooping into his face again. 

"It's still your dwelling--remember how you nearly threw Kale out? If any spirits come through that gate, just tell them they're not invited and send them back." Sinhika answered in a matter-of-fact tone. 

"Okaaaay. I'll be sure and do that--not that it worked on Kale or anything." 

Sinhika shook her head. "He's a special case--there's something stopping him from going back through the gate." 

"Yeah, plain orneriness." Sean grumbled. "Speaking of ornery weird people," He glanced at Nezumi, "There's something profoundly disturbing about a guy who says things like 'back when I was ghost...'" He picked up an empty shot glass and inspected it closely for any remaining traces. "That's getting just a little bit _too_ 'goth' for my tastes." 

Nezumi turned away from the window overlooking Hell to face Sean. She tilted her head a bit to the side, thoughtful, a glint in her eyes. "Raditz also does things like demand to be sent _back_ to Hell. Go figure that one out." She smiled mischieviously. 

"Definitely way too 'goth'..." Sean smirked. 

BAM! BAM! BAM! 

Sean jumped about a foot into the air. "What the hell? Who the hell is banging on my door in the middle of the friggin' night during a disaster curfew??" 

BAM! BAM! BAM! 

"That's odd," muttered Gohan. "I can't sense anyone out there." 

"WHO IS IT?" yelled Sean. 

CR-CRACK! The door split down the middle and fell in splintered pieces to the floor. A man stood there, his face hidden in shadows. His clothes were tattered and bloody and his long dark hair was matted with blood and worse. He lifted his head revealing eyes that blazed with an unholy crimson light, and smiled a cold, thin-lipped smile. With his long black leather coat swirling about his legs, the evil sorceror Voron strode into the apartment. 

"Voron." Sean said flatly. "I didn't invite _you_." 

"Voron.. is dead," the dead man rasped. "And I don't need an invitation. But _they_ do." He lifted his hand and crooked his finger, beckoning to the darkness outside. Darkness poured in the door and swallowed them all. 

*      *      *      *

For Gohan, the worst part was the memories of all his old fears. In the cold, silent dark, everything he'd been afraid of came back to him--the shock and terror as the long-haired stranger named Raditz beat his father and took him far away; the terrible loneliness and loss when Piccolo told him his father was dead and abandoned him in the wilderness; his fear when he faced Nappa--the first person who truly wanted to _kill_ Gohan; the moment of terror when Frieza reappeared after Dad's Genki Dama, seemingly indefeatable and killed Kulilin, and promised to kill Gohan next; and the absolute horror that was Cell. In the darkness, it all came back to him now; added to it was the growing, devouring fear that he would never, ever see his father again--from Hell, there would be no return. 

In his fear, he called out to the one person who had been there for him over the years: "PICCOLO!" 

<Gohan!>

<Piccolo? Where are you? It's so dark and cold... I'm scared.> He stopped breathing and became very quiet, hiding in the dark from the fear. 

<GOHAN!> Gohan could feel the fear in Piccolo's mind. <DON'T LET GO! I'm coming!>

What does he mean, "Don't let go"? Gohan wondered as the cold darkness crept into his heart and mind, stilling them. 

*      *      *      *

Sean shivered in the bitter cold, the blind dark silence angering him as he fell over the end table by the couch. He cursed, but could not hear himself in the enveloping darkness. Oh joy, total sensory deprivation. I so want to be completely blind and deaf when some undead asshole is trying to kill me! 

Sean used to think he was the only kid who was never afraid of the dark; instead of fearing the monster under the bed, he liked to pretend _he_ was the monster under the bed. Being a monster would be awfully handy when the bullies bothered you on the way home from school, and he liked the dark--one could hide in the dark, and pretend to stalk one's unsuspecting victims from the shadows. He was also the one who cheered for the monster at the movies; they were so much more interesting and cool than their shallow, insipid, happy victims--who reminded him all too much of the kids who picked on him at school. Sean used to think he was unique and weird that way--until the day in college he met the other unique, weird kids who thought black was the best color and night was the best time. 

His true fears: failure, conformity, inadequacy in his chosen field were too sophisticated for this darkness to hold--all it could express was fear of the dark, of being alone, of monsters, and ultimately, of death. Sean never feared his old friends, but death.. death was beginning to disturb him. He wished he could find a match; he really wanted a cigarette. 

*      *      *      *

Sinhika growled with rage--she knew this darkness! It had attacked her in the defiled temple; she had not surrendered to it then, she would not fall to it now. She was a warrior and the daughter of heroes! Illusion enfolded her, and she eluded the darkness. Sinhika smirked; it could not find her, and she.. still could not see. " _Achintya_! This should not be possible--I can see in the dark!" 

"Idiot. The bodies of these darkness demons are something more than mere absence of light," snarled an already familiar voice. 

"Thank you for that helpful bit of information, Kale." Sinhika answered sarcastically. "Any _useful_ suggestions?" 

"I will consider the matter.. after the boy dies." Kale's voice was cruelly triumphant. 

"What??" Sinhika unsheathed her swords, frustrated by her blindness. She didn't dare swing at random for fear of hitting a friend. "Gohan? Why would you hate _him_?" 

"Not Kakarott's whelp, you fool! It's that wretched artist that I want dead! Kakarott's brat is Saiyajin and--" Kale broke off abruptly, hissing curses. "DAMN THIS! If the brat dies--" The sense of his presence vanished abruptly from Sinhika's side. 

*      *      *      *

The cold bit into Nezumi's bones, and the darkness seemed to hold every childhood nightmare she'd ever known. I'm not a child anymore, she thought. Still, there were monsters in the dark--she'd seen the dead man, and she remembered the killers and rapists from the quarry. What else was closing in on her? Nezumi drew her gun--I can't shoot, I might hit my friends! She could only wait, heart pounding, for something to get her. 

_Something_ washed over her, shook the clouds from her mind. "Take care of the brat," an almost familiar voice snarled in her ear. "He's right at your feet, and dying." A powerful hand on her shoulder pushed her down, forcing her to her knees.. she fell on something soft. A body! 

*      *      *      *

Prince Khara flew toward the heart of downtown. After returning the little girl to her home, and finding out that her mother was safe after all, he had managed to track down Sinhika's landlord. All he had learned about his sister was that she was "one of those neo-punk types hangin' out at the coffee house on 3rd and Main"--whatever that meant. He intended to search for her near there--perhaps some of her friends lodged nearby. 

As he flew toward the heart of downtown, something caught the invisible demon's attention. He scanned the skyline--yes, there! A very great power, suppressed, hovering over the heart of the city, over one particular building. What did it mean? 

The Rakshasa Prince sensed the darkness elementals move in for the attack before he clearly saw the source of the great hidden power above. " _Aadhyaatmikuum andhakaara akaaryuum_! I will not allow this!" Sword drawn, he rushed into the building, following the shadow of darkness. 

Piccolo dove down to the building and smashed through the window-- 

\--into darkness. Complete and absolute darkness, neither up nor down, silent, cold and terrible. Piccolo feared neither darkness nor death, but where in this dark infinity was Gohan? The Namek dared not unleash his power--undirected, it would kill the humans and might hurt Gohan if his defenses were down. He had to find Gohan--the boy's power was fading fast! Piccolo's fear for Gohan rose up and paralyzed him. 

" _Aadhyaatmikuum anaarya_! Go back to the everlasting night that spawned you!" Something bright slashed the darkness, and the darkness wailed soundlessly. 

"Who's there?" Piccolo shouted. "What is this darkness?" 

"Powerful one," the voice called back, "If you be not an enemy, reveal yourself in light! The Children of Darkness cannot abide true light!" 

The fear fled from Piccolo's heart as he smiled knowingly. The Namek knew exactly what to do. 

"TAIO-KEN!" Unbearable brightness flashed over the tiny room; darkness screamed, writhed, and vanished, burned completely away. 

Sean blinked, and blinked again; spots danced before his eyes, slowly clearing. A sword blade waved about two inches in front of his nose. 

"Er, Sin?" 

"Oops, sorry!" Sinhika quickly lowered her blade. "I didn't know who you were in the dark!" Her eyes darted across the room, to the figure that stood framed in the door. "KHARA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" 

Piccolo looked around--there! Gohan was on the floor, terribly still; the young lady from the quarry, Nezumi, was bent over him, pumping his chest with her hands. As he watched, she bent down and forced her breath into his mouth. 

"Come on, kid, breathe!" Nezumi pleaded as she continued trying to resuscitate him. In an instant, Piccolo was beside them, placing his hand on hers, pouring his own ki into Gohan's body. 

Gohan shuddered; Nezumi stopped and felt his neck. She stared at Piccolo. "Thank God! His heart is beating on its own..." The boy coughed weakly; Nezumi smiled. "He's breathing!" She gently turned him over as he coughed, clearing his air passages. 

Gohan's eyes fluttered open; he blinked, looking at the two anxious faces hovering over him. "Piccolo. You came!" He smiled weakly. 

"CURSED BE YOUR MEDDLING, ALIEN!" snarled a baleful voice. "And cursed be your knowledge, Prince of Illusion--but for you, the child would be dead and the Opawang's curse fulfilled." 

Piccolo turned slowly; the voice came from the small adjoining room. Sean spun around; he was in the studio, near the gate, and the voice came from right behind him! 

The dead man who had been Voron stood there, at the very edge of the rift, crimson eyes glowing with anger. "You will regret your part in this," it cursed. "BECOME KRJALK!" 

The living corpse swayed on its feet as black horns burst out of its skull and curled back; its body bulged and heaved as two black, leathery wings tore themselves out of the dead man's back. They spread wide, then folded close again, blending with the black leather coat he wore. Black nails lengthened and sharpened into claws; the dead man grinned, revealing long canine fangs. A lurid light gathered in one hand; black and yellow lightnings sparking and crawling up and down his curled fingers. 

Piccolo smirked; he recognized that lurking malevolence and complete lack of detectable power. "You seem to like being beaten, don't you? First by Raditz, and now by me." The tall Namek took up fighting stance and growled, "You should never have attacked Gohan; that was your final mistake.. Deputy!" 

"Oh, crud! There goes my apartment!" Sean broke into a sweat as he realized that he was between Piccolo and Deputy-Voron. The winged demonic corpse was so close he could smell the thing, so close it could reach out and touch-- 

"YIIIII!" A hand clamped down on his shoulder.. from behind. Whew! It wasn't the Deputy-Voron demon, who was staring at him, looking.. puzzled? What the--? Sean turned his head, saying "Uh, Piccolo, you just scared ten.. years..." 

Piccolo was ten feet away. No one visible was touching Sean. 

"Oh, crud!" 

"Goodbye, Sean!" snarled Kale's voice in his ear, as two powerful, invisible hands picked up the goth artist and hurled him straight at Deputy-Voron. Sean crashed headlong into the surprised demon, and they both fell.. through the gate. 

Sean screamed as he plummetted into Hell. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XXX. REUNION


	31. XXX. Reunion

## XXX. REUNION

The floor rushed up to meet Sean very, very fast. Oh God, this is going to hurt-- 

He stopped. Suddenly. Six feet above the stone-paved floor. Someone's hand was locked around his ankle. Sean looked up along the length of his body. 

Commander Kale smirked down at him. There was nothing ghostly about him now; he was fully visible and quite substantial. He stood on nothing but air, holding Sean without any sign of strain. 

"Huh?" 

Kale's smirk deepened into a cruel smile. "You're not getting away from me that quickly! Once you're dead, I can't touch you--you haven't been judged yet. I will pay you back for the trouble you've caused me _before_ you die!" 

"KILL THAT THING!" Kale and Sean both turned to look; the King of the Saiyajin rose from this throne pointing toward them. Kale's eyes narrowed, and he flung himself and Sean to one side-- 

Black wings spread wide, Deputy-Voron alighted on the floor below the rift and laughed. "FOOLS! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU FACE!" 

Turles and three other white-cloaked guardsmen landed between the king and the demon. There was an evil glint in Turles's eye as power gathered in his hand; the other three extended their hands, palms toward the black-winged demon. 

Deputy-Voron smirked and crossed his arms in front of him. "SHIELD!" he cried, just as the blasts from the three Saiyajin hit him. 

Dust settled; the horned demon was still there, smirking over crossed arms. "Is that _all_?" 

Turles smirked; he'd held back, expecting this result. "Try this, demon!" He hurled the ball of energy, steering it into the waiting demon. A huge cloud of dust and smoke expanded out from where the demon had been... 

..And slowly cleared, revealing the demon sneering contemptously. "Pathetic." Deputy-Voron lowered his arms. "Is it my turn yet?" 

King Vegeta leaped forward with an inarticulate scream of rage, power gathering in each hand. "ALL OF YOU--ATTACK!" 

White fire screamed down toward the demon as all the Saiyajin hurled power at the demonic corpse. 

*      *      *      *

In the room above, Sinhika grabbed futilely for Sean's foot as he fell through the rift; Prince Khara grabbed his sister by both ankles as she tried to dive after him. "NO! YOU MUST NOT!" he yelled. 

"LET GO OF ME, KHARA, OR I'LL--" 

"SILENCE, BOTH OF YOU!" snarled Piccolo, who looked past Sinhika to the scene unfolding in Hell. "GOHAN, GET NEZUMI OUT OF HERE, NOW! THIS WHOLE PLACE IS ABOUT TO GO!" The powerful Namek simply grabbed one Rakshasa under each arm and hurtled back out the window he'd come in. 

Gohan saw Piccolo fleeing as his words registered; the young Saiyajin grabbed Nezumi around the waist and fled out the window close on Piccolo's heels. 

White fire exploded out of the rift behind him--and burst outward, blowing the building apart. The old building seemed to hang in mid-air for a second, and then collapsed--only to disappear in a tremendous ball of flame as a second, larger explosion spread from the rift. 

"What was that??" Gohan's eyes were huge. 

"The Saiyan king tried to fight Deputy," Piccolo said shortly. 

*      *      *      *

As the Saiyajin hurled their attacks at Deputy-Voron, Kale punched a hole in the nearest wall and tossed Sean through it. "Stay out of trouble!" Kale hissed, and turned to join the fray. 

Deputy-Voron crossed his arms again, this time holding his palms outward. "REFLECTION!" 

The barrage of white fire struck--and rebounded, each attack returning to its originator. 

BOOOM! The entire back wall of the throne room exploded as the combined power of King Vegeta, Sullion and Turles smashed back into them. Dust and stone came crashing down all around. 

The smoke cleared to reveal a shimmering translucent hemisphere of energy protecting the Saiyan king and the two warriors. King Vegeta glared with hate at the mocking demon, and, with a gesture, dispelled the shield he had raised. "TAKE HIM!" The king himself charged the winged thing, Sullion and Turles at his side. Kale plunged in from one side, sword drawn. 

Deputy-Voron flexed his wings and snarled, baring his long fangs. "My turn." 

A snap of his wings and the demon was airborne, slamming down on Commander Kale from above. He dodged Kale's awkward thrust upward and smashed his heel into the Saiyajin's throat. Kale flipped backwards and crashed to the floor, neck broken. He would be the least injured of them, and would soon heal. 

Energy gathered in Deputy-Voron's hand as King Vegeta, his shieldman Sullion, and Turles closed in. Black, red and yellow sparks crawled over the demon's clawed hand. Suddenly, he drew his arm back and pitched the ball of dark lightnings straight toward King Vegeta-- 

"EVISCERATOR!" The thing churned through the air; Turles was the first to try and fend it off, only to stagger back with half his hand torn away. Sullion's eyes widened in horror, and he shoved King Vegeta violently away, then jumped between his King and the churning ball of dark energy as it turned to follow. 

"AAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHhhhhhhhhhh!!!" A scream of utter agony came from Sullion as the ball of dark lightnings struck him and exploded, each spark piercing his spirit, tearing through him and shredding him into a bloody mist of broken power and shattered spirit. His scream slowly faded away into an infinite distance as the mist dispersed. 

"Sullion!" King Vegeta stared in horror at the place where his faithful shieldman had been destroyed. 

Deputy-Voron howled his laughter. "Prepare to join him, for the few short days your next incarnation shall have to live before Chaos devours the universe!" He raised his hand, dark power gathering once again. 

Turles grabbed the king with his uninjured arm and bolted for the nearest opening. He turned as the wicked crackle of an eviscerator sphere reached his ears--it was right behind them! In desperation, he blasted the sphere itself-- 

KRAK-BOOM! It exploded with an ugly harsh noise--bringing down what remained of the righthand wall.. on top of them. 

*      *      *      *

On the burning plains of Hell, armies clashed. Chaos monsters had been flung far and wide by the catastrophic implosion of the vortex in the Pit of Worms--even in Hell, what goes up generally must come down. Broo and less describeable things crashed down into the ranks of Rakshasa demons that followed Prince Indrajit--and battle was joined. 

The invisible demons fought the exotic, twisted powers of Chaos as the broo battled desperately to survive. The blood of the dead flowed freely, and broken spirits turned to mist, fading away until they regained power, or were reborn in the Wheel of Life. 

Prince Indrajit cut a swath through the broo legions as he rode them down and smote them with his great steel sword, or picked them off with a storm of enchanted arrows. Beside him, the Saiyan Captain Zorn fought with a joyous fury he'd nearly forgotten, breaking monsters with his bare hands when they got close enough, obliterating them from a distance with raw power if they did not. He grinned like a madman; it was the best fight he'd seen in decades--and only the second good fight since his death so many years ago. 

A momentary lull in the battle--and another Rakshasa, garbed in silver armor like Indrajit, suddenly appeared in the chariot beside Zorn. 

"What the--? Have a care, demon! I nearly destroyed you!" Zorn exclaimed, angry at being startled. 

The newcomer looked him over cooly with deep sapphire-blue eyes. "No danger of that," the Rakshasa noble stated, and then turned to Prince Indrajit. 

"Though this be an ill time for thee, I have great need of thy chariot, my nephew. As it was before, will you give it to me?" 

Prince Indrajit bowed. "As I promised, you need only ask. I know thy purpose; may Lord Narayana ride with you and defend you!" The Rakshasa Prince looked over at Captain Zorn. "Come with me; the god's gift is given to King Vibishana." Indrajit stepped down from the chariot, taking his sword and bow with him. 

Zorn scowled--but his orders were to follow Indrajit, not Indrajit's chariot or the mysterious Rakshasa King, so he, too, got down. 

King Vibishana signed that Indrajit's charioteer should also dismount. 

"Who will drive for thee, uncle?" asked Prince Indrajit. 

"I will be the charioteer.. for a mightier warrior than I." King Vibishana shook the reins, and the demon tigers spread their wings. 

*      *      *      *

Bardock and half his team looked down on the burning plain, watching the battle below. Toma carried Trunks now, and Celipa carried Goten. Down below, Panboukin and Totepo fought monsters; Bardock watched as the two ouzaru squashed unnameable things and broo. 

"We can't fly through that with the boys," he finally concluded. "The battle is too unpredictable; it would be too easy to get blindsided and lose them." 

Toma looked at Bardock. "You're going to jaunt?" 

" _We_ are going to jaunt--but I'll carry the boys. If something goes wrong, the three of us will at least be in the same place." Bardock looked slightly worried. 

"You're still against it, aren't you?" Toma noted. 

"We still don't know if living mortals can be 'jaunted'--and my grandson is the _last_ person I want to experiment with!" 

"We don't have much choice," Celipa pointed out. "They can't stay here much longer--it's not exactly healthy--and we can't get past that battle any time soon. I don't like trying a jaunt out on them any more than you do, but..." She shrugged. 

"Bardock..." Toma looked expectantly at his leader. 

The scar-faced Saiyajin straightened visibly. "Here," he held his arms out for Trunks and Goten. "You know what has to be done, do it. I'll see you at the palace, on the balcony outside my chambers." 

"Bye-bye," Goten waved to Celipa and Toma. Trunks waved to Celipa, too--then Bardock and the children vanished in a burst of sulfurous smoke. 

Celipa looked at Toma. "What are you waiting for? Let's go." The two of them vanished as one, leaving only a puff of sulfurous smoke behind. 

*      *      *      *

Raditz stopped abruptly in mid-air with a flash of released energy. "Goku!" 

Goku overshot, circled back and halted beside him. Bulma looked from one brother to the other. "What's going on, guys?" 

"Something has happened. Goten isn't ahead of us anymore," Raditz said abruptly. He looked expectantly at his brother. 

"I can still sense Trunks.. and Goten.. but I can't tell the direction," Goku said, brow furrowed. "I still can't use Shukken Idou." Beads of sweat ran down his face; the awareness of so much evil bore down on him like a vast weight on his back. 

After a moment, Raditz spoke. "They're behind us; back the way we came." His eyes widened. "Something is going on; someone's tossing power around in a big way--can you not feel it, little brother?" 

"I feel it." Power flared around Goku, and the two brothers (plus Bulma) hurtled back the way they had come. 

*      *      *      *

"What the HELL?" Bardock stared, shocked, at the ruin before him. Where his chambers had been was nothing but shattered stone and tumbled ruin. _Something_ had blown apart the back third of the palace. 

Trunks and Goten clung tightly to his neck, wide-eyed and trembling, though Trunks tried hard to hide it. Goten was not trembling from fear, however. 

"Woooo! That was fun, Grandpa! Can I learn to do that?" 

BAMF-BAMF! Celipa and Toma appeared, and nearly fell out of the sky; there was no balcony to support them as expected. Fortunately, it only took Toma an instant to recover his equilibrium and his dignity. He snapped a hand out and caught Celipa. 

She was not amused. "I can fly, you moron!" 

Toma _was_ amused. "Of course you can, that's why you're wobbling like Sarada after a three-day drunk!" 

Celipa glared at Toma, and then surged up past him, forcing him to let go or be dragged along like a fish hooked by a speedboat. 

"What happened here?" she asked Bardock as he handed Trunks back to Celipa. The violet-haired boy seemed relieved to see Celipa again. 

"I don't know. It looks like it spread from the rift." Still holding his grandson Goten, Bardock flew down to investigate. 

Something winged stalked over the tumbled ruins of the throneroom, casually flipping multi-ton slabs of rock this way and that. Bardock could see several white-cloaked forms tumbled and broken amid the rubble--but no red cloak besides his own. Where was the king? 

The winged thing looked up, revealing a human-like face--human, excepting the black backward-curving horns and the lurid crimson eyes. Long black hair framed the pale cold face; narrow lips curved up in a cruel smile. 

"So the children live yet, in _this_ realm! My mistake; when they left the living world, I thought them dead." The demon spoke in a soft, yet carrying voice. "A mistake soon remedied!" Dark power gathered in Deputy-Voron's hand. 

Goten whimpered almost involuntarily. "Bad thing!" 

"TOMA! TAKE GOTEN--YOU AND CELIPA GET OUT OF HERE!" Bardock yelled, thrusting a suddenly terrified Goten into his sub-leader's arms. 

"EVISCERATOR!" Another deadly ball of black, red and yellow lightnings hurtled from Deputy-Voron's claws, straight towards the three of them. 

Bardock darted forward, interposing himself between the oncoming attack and his grandson. He raised his arms, preparing to block the dark ball lightning. 

"Nooooo! You can't stop it that way!" A high-pitched yell from behind him--not Celipa. Who? "Let go of me!" 

"OOF! Hey, get back here!" That was Celipa! 

ZACK! A ki blast flashed down, striking the oncoming ball, exploding it-- KRAK-BOOM! 

What the--? Bardock risked a glance behind him; Trunks! The king's grandson hovered slightly above and behind Bardock. 

"Youcan'tstopitthatway--Gohan nearly got killed when the Opawang threw one at him!" Trunks yelled, the words running together in his desperate hurry. "You have to blow them up--they can't be blocked!" 

"Wretched child! Now I know why the Opawang included YOU in his death-curse!" Deputy-Voron snarled. "Die, bastard brat of a dead prince!" The demon flung his hand out and a beam of pure white power blasted out, straight for Trunks. 

Trunks froze, paralyzed with fear at the tremendous power of the oncoming attack-- 

BOOOMMMM! Another third of the palace vanished as the blast hit and detonated; a tremendous cloud of smoke and dust billowed outward. 

"DAMN YOU INTERFERING SAIYAJIN!" Deputy-Voron cursed as the smoke cleared to reveal Bardock standing on air between the demon and Trunks, his singed arms crossed in a ki-block. Celipa and Toma, still holding Goten, hovered nearby. 

Bardock smirked. "We already are." 

"If pure power will not destroy you, I will rip you apart with my bare hands!" The demon snarled and sped toward them with a snap of its black wings, moving with deceptive speed. 

Bardock darted through the air to meet it; they met in a flurry of blows. Both figures whirled and struck too fast for even Toma's experienced eye to follow-- 

\--and sprang apart, facing each other in midair. Bardock wiped a trickle of blood from his forehead; the others could see long slashes where the demon's claws had marked him. His determination was unshaken, but there was a tension not present before; the demon was fast--very fast. 

Voron's leather coat was tattered and torn; pale dead flesh gleamed through the many rents in his clothes. Deputy-Voron's body was unmarked by Bardock--but not unscathed. Dead skin drew tight over the bones; his flesh seemed sunken and withered. 

Bardock's eyes narrowed as he marked the changes; he gave a low laugh. "Just finding out your limitations, demon? That's the problem with undead corpses--they're so fragile. The strain of containing your own power is destroying you." He smirked. "I can keep this up all day--or all year." 

"Can you?" sneered Deputy-Voron. "You did not touch me--and I marked you, stole your power. Every drop you bleed makes _me_ stronger!" The undead demon-sorceror grinned. 

Bardock did not answer, but watched the demon silently as a ball of energy formed in his right hand. Without a word, he hurled the ki sphere straight at Deputy-Voron. 

"ABSORPTION!" The demon held up his hands cupped together, facing toward Bardock; a black aura glimmered around him. Bardock's attack struck the demon square on-- 

\--and vanished as if it were never there. The demon laughed. 

"Hey! That's what the Opawang did to Gohan!" Trunks exclaimed from somewhere behind Bardock. 

Bardock smirked again, noting the further changes in Deputy-Voron's corpse-form. The demon's face was even more corpse-like than before, and his hands were nearly skeletal, mummified skin pulled tight over bones. 

Deputy-Voron snarled, "It amuses you to keep feeding me your power? Do you think to overload me, burn me out? FOOL! You still have no idea what you face! This body is but a temporary shell I do not need anymore! What I NEED is your power and those brats' lives!" 

With a savage scream the demon dove toward Bardock--only to swerve abruptly in mid-air, as a katana chopped halfway through its shoulder. Deputy-Voron spiralled down, one wing nearly chopped away, dried severed bones protruding from rotten skin. 

A white-cloaked Saiyajin hovered above it, grinning evilly--Commander Kale! "Taste the power of the Saiyajin, monster!" Katana at guard, the Saiyan noble dove in pursuit of the demon. 

"Watch out! He's faster than he looks--" Bardock tried to warn Kale. 

Deputy-Voron howled in rage and ripped away the broken wing as he dropped to the floor. As Commander Kale closed in, katana raised for a decapitating blow, the Chaos demon whipped around and, faster than Kale could move, plunged one clawed hand through armor and bone to grab the dead warrior's heart. A look of bewildered surprise crossed Kale's face, as if he could not believe what was happening-- 

"I do not 'taste' the power of the Saiyajin, fool--I drink it down to the dregs!" snarled the demon--just before he crushed Kale's heart. 

A brief cry, abruptly stilled, and Kale was no more; only the faint mist of a broken, powerless spirit lingered for a few moments before it, too, was gone. 

Deputy-Voron turned to face the three remaining Saiyajin and the children. "Now his power is mine, along with that of those other fools who got in my way. Leave the children behind, Saiyajin, and you might be able to run fast enough to get away while I'm.. busy with them." 

"I _died_ protecting my world from a monster like you, demon! What makes you think I've changed?" Bardock said with cold contempt. Behind him, Toma shifted Goten to his back, putting his body between the demon and the boy. Likewise, Celipa put herself in front of Trunks. No fear, only determination could be seen in Saiyan eyes. 

"If the three of you are so noble, why, then, are you in Hell??" Energy gathered in both of the demon's clawed hands. "Please command them to run again. I am far faster than they are and they are so much weaker than I..." Deputy-Voron laughed nastily; one bare cheekbone jutted through his disintegrating skin. "You are their only hope. Let me put an end to hope." 

The demon raised his skeletal hands, cradling a brilliant ball of energy in each one. Bardock could feel the power seething in them, power many times his own. Deputy-Voron laughed mockingly. 

"Time to despair!" He hurled the ki spheres at Bardock. 

NO! Not again! Not like Frieza--  


Paft! Paft! ... BOOOMMM! BOOMMM! Both spheres deflected away, to explode harmlessly high above in the non-sky of Hell. 

Bardock suddenly found himself staring at a terribly familiar, broad, orange-clad back. His dead heart leaped; Bardock knew this form so like his own, he had seen it in so many visions, in life and afterwards... 

"Kakarott?" 

His son-- _his son!_ \--turned his head just enough to see Bardock. "Yes." The corners of his mouth quirked up in a hint of a smile. "You're my father, aren't you? I saw you on Namek." 

"DADDY! NUNK RATS!" Goten's shout rang off the stones. 

"Little brother, Father, can we postpone the reunion for just a few more minutes?" Raditz's familiar, slightly sarcastic voice cut in. "We have a slight problem to deal with." 

Bardock glanced up; his long-haired eldest son hovered slightly above and to the right of his brother, wearing strange new black and white armor. Kakarott and Raditz were both alive and here, _together_! Fighting together--as they should have been from the beginning. Raditz grinned back at him. This is impossible, thought Bardock. I am in Hell.. How can I feel such _joy_?? 

"YIIIPE! Get your hands off my tail!" Celipa could be heard exclaiming indignantly from somewhere behind them. 

"Sorry! It was an accident; Gohan is the only person as small as you to carry me in a long time, and he doesn't have a tail," came the voice of a woman Bardock did not know. 

"RADITZ! SON GOKU!" Deputy-Voron snarled, less than pleased. "YOU CANNOT BE HERE!" 

Raditz's eyes widened in surprise, and then narrowed; he recognized the startling non-power and glowing crimson eyes. "Deputy. You just don't know when to quit, do you?" He slowly drew his hands back. "LET ME TEACH YOU!" 

"MAN--" Raditz summoned power in each hand-- 

"KI--" He brought his hands together-- 

"BATSU!" The stupendous, violet-edged beam of white power slashed down, straight into Deputy-Voron. The demon's form seared, withered and blew away, disintegrated in the blast of Raditz's power. Only a black mist remained. 

The black mist coiled, twisted and grew, swelling into a huge, familiar demonic form. Horned, bat-eared dog head, long sinewy arms and shoulders covered with fur, narrow leathery wings, scaly dinosaurian legs and tail--the dark spirit of Deputy, Child of Cacodemon arose like a demonic phoenix. 

"FOOL!" It flexed its great leathery wings. "DAMNED FOOLS ALL! You've set me free of that rotten shell--set me free in this realm of evil spirits and dark despair. DO YOU KNOW HOW POWERFUL I HAVE BECOME?" Deputy giggled. "LEARN--AND DIE!" 

The great chaos demon crouched on its dinosaurian hindlegs and vomited fire at Goku and Raditz--and the children behind them. 

"Oh, crud." Raditz crossed his arms to block the attack, knowing he didn't stand a chance, but trying anyway. 

Bardock stared in silent horror at the monstrosity revealed by Raditz's attack. Joy turned to ashes; both his sons and his grandson and the king's grandson would surely die here--but not because he, Bardock, surrendered! As long as he had will and soul left... 

Bardock darted up and back, sweeping Trunks and Toma, who carried Goten, out of harm's way--for the moment. Celipa, who carried a strange blue-haired woman, followed after Toma. 

Deputy's firebolt struck, rebounded, and exploded, filling the shattered palace with sheets and darts of flame. A maelstrom of smoke and fire howled where Bardock and the others had been before he pulled them out of the way. Bardock took his wide-eyed, trembling grandson from Toma's arms and held him close, shielding the boy with his body. 

The smoke finally cleared to reveal Goku standing between Deputy and the rest of them, one hand extended, smoking palm facing the huge demon. 

Goku glanced up at Raditz and smiled fiercely. "My turn, big brother." 

Muscles flexed and bulged as golden fire gathered around him, permeated his hair, charged it so that it stood on end and glowed with a blazing golden light, a light that surrounded him, seething with power. Turquoise eyes stared coldly at the monstrous chaos demon. 

"Super-Saiyajin!" Bardock's awed exclamation seemed to echo around the broken palace. 

"You don't get a fair chance to fight me--you've done too much evil," said the Super-Saiyajin Goku to Deputy. 

"KA-" Hands cupped, 

"ME-" drawn back, 

"HA-" filled with power, 

"ME-HA!" Goku hurled his magnificent ki attack straight into Deputy's jaws! 

Deputy opened his eyes wide with shock, them something like fear contorted his bestial face. The great demon flung himself back and to side with a snap of his wings-- 

The Kamehameha turned to follow, and struck-- 

The demon exploded! 

As the ball of seething energy expanded outward, consuming what little was left of the palace, Raditz fled the expanding fireball as it licked at his heels, while Goku retreated at a leisurely pace from his own attack. 

At last the fire and smoke subsided, revealing a vast crater where half the palace had been. Deputy was gone--no. A barely visible wisp of black mist drifted at the bottom of the crater and slowly sleeped away. 

Bardock watched with a cold smile. "You belong to Lord Enma, now." His voice was startlingly loud in the blasted palace, where nothing moved. Goku, Raditz and the others looked on in silence; a hot wind blew across ashes and dust... 

CRASH! Everyone jumped as a stone trapdoor crashed open near the back of the ruined palace, pushed up from below. 

Sean stuck his head up. "Is it safe to come out now?" 

*      *      *      *

Bardock alighted, holding Goten; the little boy stared wonderingly at the golden-haired figure of his father. Bardock looked silently over Goten's head at his son Kakarott; what would he say to him? What _could_ he say to the son he had rejected as a weakling, the son he had abandoned to find his own way on an alien world--the son who had become the greatest of all Saiyajin, in strength and in heart both? 

Raditz told you what it meant to be sent to Earth as a mere infant--no one knows that I kept silent, condemned you to the ignominy of being sent away as a useless, expendable weakling, though I knew better. I knew better. I remember that last fleeting glance at you as I ran for my pod, when you had stopped crying and gotten angry at being ignored... 

Goku touched gently down, facing Bardock silently. For once, Goku's heart could not guide him--it was the source of his hesitation. He didn't know how he felt about this golden-skinned Saiyajin. All his life, Goku had wondered where he came from and who his parents were; eight years ago, Raditz arrived and gave him horrifying answers to the mystery. After that, he'd wanted to know nothing more of his ancestors.. until Frieza. 

Vegeta's pride, his courage in facing Frieza, and Frieza's cold malice and fear of the Saiyajin woke something in Goku--pride in and understanding of his heritage. Frieza had contemptuously boasted of killing this man before him, a boast that was meant to bring grief and despair--but Goku had never known his father, and did not care.. then. 

Later, when he fell to his knees before Frieza, the last of his strength spent, then Vegeta, King Vegeta, and his father Bardock came from Hell and gave _their_ strength to Goku, the strength and pride that made them defy Frieza to death and beyond. Goku sometimes wondered, when he was alone with his thoughts, what his father had been like, and what he thought of his Earth-raised son. What had brought Bardock from Hell to help his youngest son? Goku thought--hoped--that it was something stronger than hatred of Frieza, something nobler than vengeance. 

"Where did my daddy go?" Goten asked, confused by the golden-haired angel before him. "Who's that?" 

"Goten, it's just me!" Goku said cheerily as his hair shifted back to its normal black. 

"DADDY!" Goten yelled happily, reaching out for Goku. "How did you do that? Gohan can do that, too! Can I learn how to turn my hair all funny yellow?" Goku gently lifted his youngest son from Bardock's arms. Goten promptly turned around to look at his silent grandfather. 

"Grandpa, can you turn your hair yellow and get real strong, too?" 

Bardock shook his head slowly. "No, little one, I never learned how to become a Super-Saiyajin." He looked beyond Goten at his son Kakarott. "I did not forsee that." 

Goku held up Goten and looked at him, smiling. "Well, you've certainly come through this well, little man. Chi-chi will be so happy; there's not a scratch on you! Someone took good care of you!" He looked significantly at Bardock as Goten perched on his shoulder. 

"He is Saiyajin..." Bardock then smiled very slightly at Goku. "..and he is my grandson--the son of _my_ son..." He trailed off into a long silence that Goku feared to break, knowing something precious would be lost. "A son I am very proud of." 

It was Goku's turn for silence; he was uncharacteristically hesitant when he finally spoke--and his face said far more than his words. "Thank you for saving my son, and Trunks. I.. You are not what I expected." 

Bardock's faint smile deepened. I am not what you feared, am I? "The Prince is the only other Saiyajin you've really known, isn't he? We low-class warriors were.. different from the elites." 

One thing is the same, Bardock reflected. One thing is the same between low-class and elite, Earth Saiyajin and the lost souls of Vegetasai--we are proud of our sons. Kakarott is proud of his son Goten, I am proud of Kakarott, King Vegeta is proud of Prince Vegeta, and I think the Prince is proud of his son Trunks. 

What is this 'pride'? I did not raise Kakarott, he has nothing of me save my blood--but I am proud of him--for what _he_ is, not for what I did. I begin to understand what this 'pride' is we feel for our sons, and it has nothing to do with that arrogance in our own power that we also call 'pride'. 

How can I feel this way when I am in Hell? Bardock looked at his other son Raditz, at his old friends Toma and Celipa, and suddenly understood. It's in my heart, even in this place of sorrow. 

"Take them home, Kakarott." Bardock nodded at the yawning black rift far above. "Go, quickly. This is no place for any of you!" 

*      *      *      *

Even as Goku descended to talk to Bardock, the rest of them settled to ground near Sean. Raditz stared incredulously at the young artist. 

" _Sean??_ How in HELL did you get here? How did you survive?" 

"Funny you should phrase it that way." Sean smirked. "Kale didn't like me." 

"TRUNKS!" Bulma embraced her son. "Are you okay? Oh my goodness, you've been hurt!" 

"I'm okay, Mom!" The violet-haired boy squirmed in embarassment. "I just got a few bruises from that big demon hitting me. That's all. Really!" 

"The boy will survive; he was not much injured, and he fights well for one of his youth," Celipa interrupted. From the slightly annoyed expression on her face, the Saiyan woman sympathized with Trunks' embarassment. 

Toma glanced over at Sean, a bit puzzled himself. "What have you to do with Commander Kale? Were you on the other side of that rift?" 

"I created it--not that I meant to," Sean hasted to add as Toma scowled. "Kale's the one who pushed me and that demon through--that's how I got here," Sean nodded to Raditz, answering his earlier question. "I'm alive because Kale wanted to kill me personally, one small piece at a time--so he stashed me out of harm's way when things started going wild with the demon. Then I looked for an even deeper hole to dive into, and found it. Where's Kale, anyway?" 

"Deputy came through the rift from your dwelling?" Raditz asked, his blood running cold. He did not wait for an answer, but growled angrily. "What happened to Gohan?? And 'Zumi?" 

Sean took a step back; Raditz's anger and fear were palpable things, promising someone's death for the wrong answer. Sean hoped it wasn't his own. He desperately wanted a cigarette, but dared not make Persephone's mistake. His mouth felt as dry as the ash-covered floor of this place. "I don't know--I couldn't see them from where I was standing after the darkness demons attacked, but I could hear her voice and Gohan's both, so they're alive, at least." 

"Commander Kale sent that demon here--and it destroyed him," Toma answered Sean's question as Raditz scowled silently at Sean. 

"Destroyed?" Sean looked sharply at Toma. "You mean he's not coming back for me? How can a ghost be destroyed?" 

Toma frowned; he didn't like being reminded of what he really was. "Souls cannot be truly 'destroyed', but we can lose all power, will, and memory and pass on to our next incarnation." He fell silent. 

"And this is worse than being dead in Hell?" Sean still wished he had a cigarette, even if it made his bronchitis flare up again. 

"You could not possibly understand!" Toma snarled angrily; pain touched his eyes as he glanced at Celipa. Gravel shifted and rattled not far away. 

"He doesn't, but I do." Bulma interjected. "It's because Vegetasai is gone, isn't it? All the Saiyajin except two are dead--you can't be reborn as Saiyajin--not anymore. Whatever comes next, you won't be Saiyajin ever again." 

"Never again shall any walk the shores of Umiy Moor'asaakye, nor look up at the Winged Rings, nor behold the hot white sun we called Kajaio, 'King Fire', setting red in the evening." The hard, strong voice of King Vegeta rang in Bulma's ears; she turned to see the Saiyan King, battered and bloody, leaning on the equally battered and bloody Turles. 

"Nevermore shall fathers teach their sons the Traditions of the Saiyajin, never again shall brave Saiyan warriors vow their loyalty to their king and world; nevermore shall they go forth to fight and die with courage. Never again shall their souls return to Vegetasai, nevermore shall we be Saiyajin." The auburn-haired king was stern, but his words and eyes belied his stoic face. "And when the last of us who wait in Hell have departed, who will remember these things? The glory of Vegetasai is gone forever, never to return; the memory of the Saiyajin is a fading twilight, soon to vanish into darkness forever." 

The King drew himself up to his full height, and stared down at Bulma. "You could never have seen the truth, save that you are truly my son's mate." He looked at Trunks, who stared back at his grandfather in unabashed curiousity. The faintest hint of a smile graced King Vegeta's lips. "He has a Saiyan soul--even if his hair is the most absurd thing I have ever seen." 

Bulma looked at her son. "I guess he would." She looked sharply at the King. "And Gohan and Goten? Are their souls Saiyan, too?" 

"Kakarott's sons? Of course." 

"Bulma?" Goku was there, holding Goten. "We have to leave now." He looked beyond her at the Saiyan King, a question on his face. 

"Go!" commanded the King. "It is forbidden--yet equally forbidden was sending the children here in the beginning--and I have not the power to stop you." Nor have I the desire, his eyes said silently. 

*      *      *      *

The living and the dead gathered around the rift. Trunks hung over Raditz's shoulder and waved goodbye to Celipa and Toma; Bulma thought that she saw Celipa wipe away a tear--but perhaps it was her imagination. Goten was quiet, and buried his face in Goku's gi whenever Bardock drifted near; Goku's gi was getting quite soggy. 

"Kakarott." Bardock looked at his son, ancient sorrow in his eyes. "I regret that I was never a father to you.. but if I had been, you would not be what you are, and I.. do not regret what you are." 

Goku drifted close to his father. "But you do regret that you didn't see me grow up, and that I never knew you." 

Bardock nodded almost imperceptibly. "I did see you grow up, in my visions.. I wish you could know--" 

"But I can." Goku reached out, touching his fingers to the side of Bardock's head, drawing directly from his mind all that Bardock wanted him to know, as Goku had done with Kulilin on Namek. Images and memories--the curse of foresight, his friend Toma's dying revelation of Frieza's plan to destroy Vegetasai, the frantic race to Vegetasai, his desperate lonely battle against all of Frieza's minions, and finally, that last, terrible duel against Frieza. 

A grimness shadowed Goku as he remembered his own deaths and his own terrible fight against Frieza. There were other memories, too--Bardock's long-ago pride in his young son Raditz, his terrible grief when Kinoko died, his initial disappointment in his weak second son, his hope and pride in Kakarott as his visions revealed his son growing to manhood, facing Frieza, his final farewell to his infant son... 

"Father!" Goku finally pulled back, shaken. He bowed his head. "Now I understand--thank you for letting me have this much of you." 

"Farewell, Kakarott.. my son." They drifted slowly apart, and Goku turned reluctantly towards the rift, taking Bulma from Raditz so that Raditz could take Sean from Toma. "Farewell, Raditz--see that you do not return." There was a hint of a wry smile, then he was all business. "Go; I will close this rift behind you; you will not be able to return, and nothing will come through from this realm again." 

"Goodbye, father." Both his sons and those they protected vanished into the black rift, leaving Hell forever. 

My sons and grandsons live, and their lives are good indeed. At long last, my youngest knows me, and I him. I am content. 

"Get clear," he ordered Toma and Celipa. "It's time to close this rift!" They took one look at the energies gathering around Bardock and dove for the far end of the blasted palace. Bardock reached out and touched the rift. 

In that instant, Bardock realized the power that had opened the rift was even further beyond him than he was beyond an ant. In that instant, everything that he was and had been was stripped away by the power that held the rift open. 

The rift exploded. Soundless, invisible, intangible, the frightful energies fed back into themselves; a kink in the universe straightened itself out. Yggdrasil groaned as a cracked root healed and shifted back into position. Chaos howled as an abomination that never should have been was undone; the universe reclaimed a piece of itself from oblivion. 

*      *      *      *

Back on Earth, Kulilin started from a sound sleep. What was going on? He looked around the darkened bedroom; Eighteen was sound asleep. He got up and padded silently into his daughter's room. No, Marron was also asleep; it wasn't her crying that disturbed him. 

No, the disturbance ran deeper than that. It was a horrid feeling in the air, a sense of some monstrously evil ki of nightmarish power--and not all that far away. Kulilin's throat tightened; it reminded him of Frieza, though it was not Frieza, or even Cell's counterfeit of Frieza's ki. This was far more powerful--but like Frieza, it was utterly inimical, and carried the stench of death--his death, everyone's death--with it. 

"I'll bet Goku's awake, too," Kulilin said to himself as he reached for the telephone. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XXXI. CACODEMON RISING


	32. XXXI. Cacodemon Rising

## XXXI. CACODEMON RISING

"DAD!" Gohan flung himself at his father. "I thought you were dead, or trapped, or something! The whole thing blew up!" 

"WHOA! Careful, son, you almost knocked me and your brother out of the sky!" Goku steadied himself and Goten. He looked quickly around; Piccolo was holding Nezumi, who regarded Raditz with obvious relief, Sinhika was hovering by herself and glaring at a newcomer who looked much like her save that he was male and had ordinary dark hair. The newcomer was glaring back with equal ferocity. 

"MY APARTMENT!" Sean gaped at the empty crater where the building had been. 

"Um, let's go somewhere we can get something to eat and catch up," Goku suggested. 

"Capsule Corp!" Sinhika, Nezumi and Bulma chorused almost simultaneously. 

"Great!" Goku darted off toward the one brightly-lit section of the city. 

A few minutes later, Bulma stumbled through the front door of her house, followed by everyone else, except Piccolo, who stayed outside as usual. Any other time, they would have met in the old suite in the Capsule Corp HQ building, but that was just a pile of rubble now. Was it really only yesterday that the earthquake struck? 

At least Dad has gotten power turned on, Bulma thought. "Anyone want some hot cocoa? I think I've got some in the kitchen." 

Raditz's head jerked up. "Is that like food?" His stomach growled. 

Goku looked over at him. "Hey, that's right, you ran out without eating dinner! Have you had anything to eat at all?" 

"One senzu bean." 

Across the room, Khara apologized somewhat ashamedly to his sister. "..Father actually approves of what you are doing, dear sister, and was quite put out that I.. interfered." 

Goten and Trunks flopped down on the couch with the intention of waiting for hot cocoa and listening to the grownups--and promptly fell asleep. 

"So what happened, Dad? Did you fight the demon? What happened to that Saiyan ghost, Kale? How did Mr. Sean survive? Did you meet any of our old enemies? Where did you find Goten and Trunks? Was it very bad?" Gohan was bursting with questions. 

"Well, Gohan, I--" Goku froze, eyes slowly widening in shock. "It's back!" 

"What?" Gohan's head snapped up, his eyes also widening. "What is that? It's.. horrible!" 

" _Ashubhaam..._ " Sinhika muttered, her pretty Indian face turning pale. Prince Khara simply looked worried. 

"Oh, crud." Raditz's eyes widened. "It's not possible!" 

Nezumi looked at him, concerned. "Raditz?" 

"Huh?" Sean looked confused, and then shivered involuntarily, feeling suddenly cold and empty in the brightly lit, crowded room. He groped in his pockets for a cigarette. 

"Guys, what is it? Why is everyone looking so scared all of a sudden?" Bulma looked scared herself. 

Goten and Trunks snapped awake simultaneously. "Daddy? Nunk Rats??" Goten jumped off the couch and ran over to his uncle, grabbing his leg tightly. Trunks ran over to his mother and hugged her around the waist, as if afraid she would disappear. 

"SON GOKU! GOHAN! GET OUT HERE, IT'S COMING FAST!" Piccolo shouted from outside. 

*      *      *      *

In the forgotten hells of myth, another Saiyajin watched another horror rise out of the darkness... 

Prince Vegeta arced high above the river, studying the Night Serpent. Apep's head swayed this way and that as the gigantic snake tried to watch Vegeta with his one good eye. Mogris flew up after Vegeta, a swirling wind blowing in her wake. 

"What are you doing here, woman? This is my fight--as if you could fight, anyway!" 

"I can fight, Wolfslayer! I admit that this monster is beyond my power to slay--perhaps I might provide some useful distraction." Mogris hefted her spear confidently. 

Vegeta opened his mouth to rebuke the pushy, low-class woman--and thought better of it as a plan for dealing with Apep came to mind. His eyes narrowed as he calculated.. Yes, that just might work. He smirked. 

"Yes, you can provide some useful distraction--if you've the wit to pay attention and do it right the first time!" Vegeta snapped haughtily. "Its scales absorb energy attacks; there are only a few vulnerable points." Vegeta indicated a target. "Think you can hit it?" he sneered. 

"No, Vegeta--I've always been doubtful about my ability to hit the broad side of a barn at two fathoms range," Mogris replied, dry as ever. "Get out of my way, Vivamort's Bane, and let me show you how Lightning Spear is meant to be used!" 

Mogris flew up and over, circling the dread serpent's head. Its gaze flicked between her and Vegeta, but then Vegeta flamed golden--and all of Apep's attention was on the Super-Saiyajin. Mogris grinned to herself, and dove, arm drawn back to throw the spear, sparks crawling over its sharp-edged head, shield in front to protect her. 

"LIGHTNING SPEAR!" A thunderbolt flashed from her hand and blasted Apep's glinting black eye. Lightning ricocheted back and forth between her hand and the target until Apep convulsed, his head snapping back as the blinded serpent hissed with rage and pain. Mogris flew up and back, the Lightning Spear once again a spear in her hand. 

"APEP--TURN AND FACE THE PRINCE OF ALL SAIYAJIN!" Vegeta roared as the blind serpent snapped randomly at the air. The gigantic snake heard, and turned toward the sound of hated sun spirit. Blinded, the serpent could not see Vegeta rush to meet him, diving headlong into Apep's gaping maw--nor could he see the small disk of energy spinning at Vegeta's fingertips. Down Vegeta plunged into the jaws of the serpent, blazing down its very throat. 

"KI-ENZAN!" 

Apep's neck exploded as a flat disk of energy flashed outward, decapitating the dread serpent from within. The jaws crashed shut as the great head fell away, Vegeta exploding out of the gaping wound in a golden fury. The headless body convulsed madly, spasming to and fro, churning the river into foam, red foam as blood poured from the severed neck. 

At last the great body fell quiet, a last few spasmodic twitches still shaking scales loose--then stillness. Apep, Serpent of Darkness, was dead. 

Soon the sun-path would be open. 

*      *      *      *

Goku and Gohan rushed outside and darted into the air, joining Piccolo. It came from the west, a baleful red star shining in the night; its malefic power hammered their finely tuned senses like some mad discordant music amplified to an impossible volume. 

Golden fire lit the night, and the earth trembled; all around the city, men and women shivered in their beds, terror making them children again as nightmare flew above, and the earth shook below. Goku and Gohan hovered shoulder to shoulder, blazing with golden Super-Saiyan power; Piccolo hovered just above, facing the unseen horror. 

As it hurtled ever nearer, the red star became a trinary constellation, three red bale-stars clustered together. In the dark night without morning, nothing more could be seen... 

The triple bale-star suddenly vanished, and there was a flap of monstrous wings as something huge and tailed flashed upward at the edge of the golden light. Gohan strained to watch it as it mounted high into the night. 

"What is it?? Can you see it, Dad?" 

"No, but I can feel it," Goku said calmly. "That is enough." 

Piccolo looked upward, but remained silent. His far-seeing eyes revealed more truth than he cared to report. 

A hideous scream rang out--the very earth cringed away from it. 

"DIEEEEE, GOHAN! DIE, SON OF GOKU!" The monster stooped upon them, diving out of the black sky. 

It was huge, half the size of an ouzaru; great black wings clung close to its back, folded to speed its dive. The rest of it.. tail and dog-like head, long claws and powerful legs--it was almost a larger version of Deputy. Almost. 

Between and above the two crimson eyes blazed a great red gem, the third star of the demon's constellation. Tendrils writhed about the hideous jaws, extending from the thing's black lips. A stinger tipped the long supple tail, and Goku remembered how lethal that weapon had been once before. The arms were thicker and more powerful than Deputy's, hands tipped with the same venom-slimed claws. Finally, they could all sense this thing's terrible power; it stood forth unconcealed and horribly foul. 

Gohan's eyes widened as the horror fell on him; he dodged aside as the great claws flashed by--only to swerve abruptly, as the tail stinger narrowly missed his face. The demon was fast! 

The demon spread his wings and alighted in the middle of the Capsule Corp compound. "FOOLS!" it hissed. "DELIGHTFUL FOOLS! DO YOU THINK TO DEFEAT ME? YOU ARE DEAD ALREADY, FOR YOU ARE THE CHOSEN VICTIMS OF CACODEMON, CHILD OF WAKBOTH, FATHER OF ALL PAIN AND EVIL. WITH THE POWER OF YOUR SOULS SHALL I ROUSE MY FATHER AND GIVE HIM THIS WORLD IN WHICH TO DELIGHT!" 

Gohan winced; the Chaos god was very loud. "First you have to fulfill the bargain you made with the Opawang, don't you? And WE WON'T LET YOU!" Gohan screamed, his hands filling with energy. "MAA-SEN-KO!" 

A beam of yellow-white energy flashed down from Gohan to the monstrous demon-- 

A blinding, coruscating sheet of red lightning wreathed the demon's head as Gohan's beam struck and became entangled in the lightnings. It fed the lightnings, made them whiter and more furious as they writhed across Cacodemon's bestial face. For long seconds the raging electrical storm played about the demon's head, finally, slowly dying out as each bolt grounded itself in the great ruby set in Cacodemon's forehead. At last there was silence, silence in which the great gem pulsed and glowed. 

Cacodemon laughed, a harsh clanging sound like steel beams crashing together. The demon snapped his wings together, surging into the air. Crimson eyes locked onto Gohan, and hideous lips seemed to grin. "NOW YOU DIE!" 

The building-sized monster rose slowly into the sky; Gohan's lips turned up in a hard smile. The monster's _tail_ might be fast, but the monster itself moved slowly! 

A streak of blazing gold zipped around and behind the monster; Gohan dove and struck, smashing into Cacodemon's neck with a flying kick--sinking into thick curled hair that cushioned the blow, hitting bottom in thick, rubbery hide--rebounding! He dove back, raining blows that would shatter buildings on the back of the demon-god's skull. Every blow was muted, cushioned and thrown back. 

"AIYYYYEE!" yelped Gohan in surprise. "DAD! PICCOLO! Watch out! It's like he's made of rubber cushions--everything just bounces off!" 

Cacodemon laughed again. "FOOLS! THIS FORM WAS MADE TO DEFEAT YOU!" The huge torso twisted, and Gohan dodged--but not quite far enough as one wing snapped back with blinding speed and slapped Gohan into the ground. 

As Gohan started to climb out of the crater he'd made in one of the Capsule Corp warehouses, Cacodemon dropped, huge taloned feet slashing down. Gohan dodged one, two, and with a sudden spurt of speed, got out from under the demon before it crushed him--only to be greeted by the tail. The stinger missed, but the side of the tail slapped him and flung him headlong to plow a forty yard ditch in the tarmac. The demon's tail was _very_ fast! 

Size, thought Gohan dazedly. It's his size; everything's so big on him that I'm not dodging a blow, I'm dodging a wall--a wall almost as fast as me! 

The tail curled back for another strike-- 

"KA-ME-HA-MEHA!!" Goku's attack flashed down to engulf the demon-- 

"HAAAAAAHH!" Piccolo's beam slashed down-- 

Both attacks changed, becoming brilliant crimson lightning engulfing the demon, lightning that raged and cracked until, one by one, each stroke was absorbed into the great red gem on Cacodemon's forehead. The gem blazed like a star, too bright to look at directly. 

The Chaos demon.. grinned. It opened its jaws wide, and spewed a blast of white energy down--straight at Gohan! 

The fearful energies struck--and detonated! The blast bulged up and swelled out, a great yellow-white fireball that engulfed the entire south end of the compound. A huge cloud of ash and dust rose into the air. The demon's eye-gem pulsed less brightly; it was bearable to see, now. 

"GOHAN!" A single exclamation escaped Goku's lips; a father's involuntary worry, though he knew Gohan to be stronger than that. 

Cacodemon's head snapped abruptly to the left; his dog-face twisted into a snarl. "FOOLS! THE WEAKLINGS CANNOT ESCAPE ME!" The demon's crimson eyes blazed brightly, and twin eye beams slashed into Bulma's house, piercing and detonating. 

"NO!" Goku's eyes went wide with horror as he saw the explosion engulf the house--and felt his younger son's and his brother's ki wink out. "NOOOOO!" 

Golden fire engulfed Goku; his hair spiked higher and muscles twisted and grew. "GOTENNNNNN!" Power gathered in his cupped hands. 

"Hold, Son Goku!" Piccolo spoke sharply. "Do not feed him more power! Things are not what they seem; that blast could not have killed Raditz! Watch the demon!" 

Cacodemon swung his huge dog-like head from side to side, as if searching for something. His eyes narrowed to slits of crimson fury, lips curling back and nostrils flaring in a frustrated snarl. Taloned fingers hooked and straightened convulsively. 

Finally it came to a decision, even as Gohan rose from the settling dust cloud behind it. Crimson eye-beams lashed out, searching and destroying every building, every pile of rubble that might hide its prey. 

*      *      *      *

Lina, Acting Chief of Security for Capsule Corp, looked out the window of the Security Building as she yelled into her walkie-talkie, "..get everyone out, NOW! There's a Gojira-class monster in the compound, he's not friendly, DON'T ARGUE, JUST MOVE!! Find out who's where LATER, or we'll find ourselves all together in hell!" 

Lina glanced up again just to see the great demon glare balefully in her direction. "Oh, crud, he's--" 

She didn't even feel the crimson eye-laser that incinerated her, much less see the building explode around her crumbling ashes. But the warning had been given.. just in time. Others would survive. 

*      *      *      *

Raditz gritted his teeth as he blocked two more stray eye-beams. He'd already had to drop Trunks, letting the boy carry Goten and fly himself; Bulma was enough of a burden, hampering him from moving freely and fighting. 

"Why the hell is he still attacking us?" the big Saiyajin yelled at the two Rakshasas. "Didn't your illusions work?" 

"Of course they did!" snapped Sinhika, orange hair blowing back in the wind. "He's still searching for us; he doesn't know exactly where we are." 

"Great way to search," Sean said sarcastically. "Annihilate everything in sight, and sooner or later you'll hit something important--like us." 

"I felt what you two did," Raditz snarled back at Sinhika. "It felt like all our powers disappeared at once. That _thing_ should think we're dead! Why doesn't it?" 

Prince Khara joined in. "We did hide our.. 'ki' as you call it, or the monster would not now be searching for us; instead, it would be unleashing its full power upon us." The prince's stern face regarded Raditz disapprovingly; he did not welcome criticism of his sister. "Something else draws that abomination to us." 

"If you can't figure out what and stop it in the next five seconds, we have to find a faster way out of here! It's already suspicious; I think it saw those blocked beams. I cannot hold off an attack like it just tossed at Gohan!" Raditz snarled, fear for his charges feeding his anger... They'd escaped destruction by a heartbeat, but now the demon was hunting them. 

*      *      *      *

"HAAAA!" Goku slammed sideways into the demon's ankle, catching it mid-stride. Though the great ankle was bare of the thick, curly, cushioning hair, its rubbery hide still flung Goku back--but it did nothing for the demon's balance. Caught off-balance, one foot knocked out from under it, the monster staggered, flailed and went down. The impact of its fall cracked the ground in all directions. 

Cacodemon thrashed as he scrabbled to regain his feet; Piccolo dove down, striking for the unprotected eyes. 

The great demon's head snapped to one side so fast only Goku could see the move, and the jaws clashed shut--on Piccolo. Piccolo screamed harshly as Cacodemon shook his head and flung Piccolo's body away--minus his left arm and shoulder. The Namek fall heavily to the ground, blood oozing from the gaping wound; the left half of his chest had been bitten away. The demon swallowed, and licked his tendriled lips. 

"PICCOLO!" Gohan shouted, enraged; his hair stood on end as his aura crackled with its own lightning. Cacodemon's eyes widened as the boy's power skyrocketed. 

"KA-" 

"GOHAN! NO!" shouted Goku, but Gohan was too enraged to listen. 

"ME-" 

Piccolo groaned, shuddering as his body began to convulse in the throes of regeneration. 

"HA-" 

"GOHAN! LISTEN TO ME! YOU CAN'T STOP HIM THAT WAY!" Goku pleaded, coming between Gohan and the demon. 

Gohan's eyes were blank with rage; he did not hear. 

"-MEHA!" Goku darted back out of the way as Gohan's huge ki ball flashed downward, right into the great Chaos demon's mocking eyes. 

It detonated right on the blazing red ruby embedded in the demon's skull-- detonated into a seething ball of red lightning swirling over the demon's face. Stray lightning strokes lashed out, walking across the ground and splitting the sky. One stray bolt touched down not far beyond Bulma's destroyed house. 

Like flipping a switch back on, Raditz and Goten and the others returned to Goku's awareness. What had happened? He looked over to where they must be--yes, there they were, flying quickly away. But if he could sense them.. so could the demon. Goku put two fingers to his forehead, concentrating on Raditz's ki. He disappeared. 

The lightning storm folded in on itself and vanished into the sun-bright gem. Cacodemon laughed that clanging-steel laugh. "WHAT HELPFUL FOOLS YOU ARE!" Then his head snapped around in the other direction and his eyes narrowed. "DIE, RADITZ, DIE WITH YOUR SAIYAN WHELPS!" 

Cacodemon spat white fire at the small group--a great column of the starkly incredible energies an enraged Gohan had just given him. For a short moment, a sun touched down on the eastern edge of Satan City; the white blast lit the night, bringing false dawn to half the world. Rock cracked, melted and vaporized; a vast fireball spread and spread, engulfing half the earthquake-battered city. There were no survivors. 

The great demon watched the billowing mushroom cloud with satisfaction; he could no longer sense his prey--their lives had vanished from his ken in the instant of his attack. Only one important life remained... 

Cacodemon turned his great head, watching the boy who hovered above him, eyes wide with stark horror. The demon laughed again. "TIME FOR YOU TO DIE AND FULFILL THE CURSE!" 

*      *      *      *

Chi-chi yawned and glanced at her clock--and opened her eyes fully. It was seven o'clock! It couldn't be morning already--could it? She had barely slept a wink in the nearly empty house, worrying herself sick about Gohan and Goten and Goku. But.. if it was morning already, why was it so dark? 

Chi-chi tossed a robe on and stepped outside; it was utterly dark. Neither stars nor moon shone in the sky, and there was no hint of coming dawn; not a single light shined from neighboring houses. 

She ran back inside, checking all the clocks in the house. Every one of them agreed; it was after seven A.M, long past sunrise. Chi-chi threw herself on her bed, hugging her pillow. Alone, the entire world in darkness--it was a nightmare; it had to be! 

That was how Goku found her, when he materialized a few feet away--with Raditz, Bulma, Trunks, Goten, Sinhika, Sean, Khara, and Nezumi in tow. 

"EEEEEEEEEEEE!!! GOKU, I'M IN MY NIGHTGOWN!" Chi-chi peeled herself off the upper back wall of the bedroom and dropped nimbly to the floor. "WHAT ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE DOING HERE?" She put her hands on her hips and glared death at Goku. 

"Oh, good. This isn't Lord Enma's," commented Raditz, surprised. 

Chi-chi's glare switched to Raditz; the look on her face suggested that she would happily send him there immediately if not sooner. 

"Ah, calm down, Chi-chi!" Goku raised his hands in a concilliatory gesture. "It was an emergency, and you were the first person I could think of to jump to! If I hadn't, they all would have been killed!" 

"IF THEY WERE DEAD, THEY WOULDN'T BE HERE SEEING ME IN MY NIGHTGOWN!" 

Prince Khara reddened. "She is quite correct; this is most improper." He, Sinhika and Sean retreated quickly from the room. 

Bulma looked at Raditz and the kids. "Guys--out! You too, Goku. I'll explain things to Chi-chi." Raditz nodded, swept up Trunks and steered Nezumi out of the room along with him. 

Goten looked up at his enraged mother. "Mommy? Please don't be mad at them; they rescued me from the Bad Place. I didn't mean to be naughty, but the bad dinosaur fooled me, he sounded just like Daddy!" 

"Oh, Goten!" Chi-chi's anger vanished in an eyeblink; she knelt down and hugged her son. "It's all right, I know it wasn't your fault!" She looked up at her husband. "You found him! I knew you would." Chi-chi smiled. 

Goku smiled back, relieved. "Bulma and Trunks, too. Everyone's okay, but..." He put two fingers to his forehead. "Gohan needs my help." 

"GOKU! DON'T YOU DA--" Chi-chi broke off as Goku vanished. She turned to Bulma. "What on earth is going on?" 

Bulma looked sheepish. "It's a long story.. but not as long as the other one. As soon as you've changed, I guess I can introduce you to everyone. You see, there's this huge demon who's trying to kill us, and.." 

*      *      *      *

"DAMN THIS!" 

Perhaps it was a singularly inappropriate curse for a damned soul seeking escape from Hell, but Vegeta had no interest in the "appropriateness" of his exclamations. He was simply furious. 

On the edge of Dawn, where the Stygian Nile left the Twelve Hours of Night and the Solar Barge sailed into the sky, his path was barred. Again. 

No monster blocked him; no god forbade him to pass. He simply could not fly. Where the Solar Barge flew, Vegeta could not. The rules had changed again, and there was nothing to break and no one to kill to make the rules change back. The dead could not follow the Sun into the realm of the living, and the damned could not follow Ra into the heavens. 

Mogris looked at the raging Saiyan prince, and smiled a small, queer smile. Vegeta noticed. 

"WHAT ARE YOU SO AMUSED BY, WOMAN?" He turned on her, power seething with his rage. 

"If I tell you, you'd probably kill me," she noted dryly. "But, I do know how to pass this barrier." 

"WHAT?? If you don't tell me, I _will_ kill you!" Vegeta blustered. 

"Then I definitely wouldn't tell you." Mogris tossed her red hair back. "Your word, _Prince_ Vegeta; I require your word that you will neither attack me nor abandon me--for I, too, must face Cacodemon." No dry sarcasm tainted her voice; all was serious. 

"What?? You have nothing to do with my battle!" What is it with these women? Every single one I've met in the Hells wants to come with me! 

"I have much to do with the Chaos demon, Vegeta! When I became Mogris, I exchanged one geas for another. Modgudh's geas to guard the Gioll Bridge was broken with the Gioll Bridge, and annulled forever when she became a living, breathing woman again--but Griselda's geas to fight Chaos wherever it may be found is my geas, now. I know of Cacodemon's rampage through the Nine Worlds; I am bound to fight him." 

Vegeta folded his arms and frowned at her. "Oh, very well. You have my word as Prince of the Saiyajin. NOW TELL ME HOW TO GET OUT OF HERE!" 

Mogris nodded, that queer smile on her face again. "Simple enough; I can still fly here. I'll carry you." A fresh breeze suddenly stirred Vegeta's wolf-fur cloak, and Mogris drifted into the air. 

Vegeta glared at her coldly. "Someone.. is going to die... Soon." Vegeta reached up and grabbed the warrior-woman's arm. 

Behind the Mountain called Bakhau, where the Sun ascends from the Underworld into the dawn sky, the change began. Vegeta felt himself become lighter, less real--and Mogris became like gossamer in his grip, something untouchable. He could no longer hold her, nor could she grasp him, for Mogris was living flesh and Vegeta was a dead soul, here on the sharp edge of life. 

"No!" The Saiyan Prince knelt on the jagged mountaintop, bracing himself with his clenched fists. "It cannot end here!" 

"We could go back the way you came, find a ship to take us across the sea to Niffleheim..." Mogris trailed off at the look on Vegeta's face. 

"NO! That would be too late!" Some instinct told Vegeta that he could not turn back or turn aside, or all would be lost. So close.. beyond the Dawn lay life, and Bulma and Trunks and Kakarott... His soul called out to her, Bulma, the blue-haired goddess of his hidden heart. 

I.. must.. go.. to.. her. 

*      *      *      *

Bulma started; she'd been daydreaming, right in the middle of the crowded living room. Well, at least everyone had been introduced, sort of, and the kids were finally in bed, again--that was the first thing she and Chi-chi did. Now what? 

Sean had found a few clean sheets of paper somewhere and was busily sketching. His black hair hung over his face as he worked intently on his drawing. 

Bulma grew curious; was he recording something from their recent adventures? What was so urgent that he had to start right _now_ , barely ten minutes after they'd arrived? She padded quietly over and looked past his shoulder--and gasped. It was another picture of Vegeta! 

Sean looked up at the sharp intake of breath. At the sight of Bulma, he blushed, and quickly tried to cover up the picture. "Uh--" 

"No, wait. I want to see..." 

Reluctantly, Sean pulled his hands back. It was still a rough pencil sketch, but very distinct for all that. Vegeta lay as she had last seen him, eyes closed and his face peaceful in death. His hands were clasped over his breast, hiding the dreadful wound inflicted by the demon, and branches of cherry blossoms were nestled all around his body. Tears filled Bulma's eyes; this was a picture of his burial; there, at the top of the picture were the boulders that marked his grave. All around the edges of the picture were strange glyphs, writing from some alien language unknown. 

The tears ran freely down Bulma's face. "How did you-- Why did you draw this?" 

Sean looked troubled. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to hurt you. This picture came to me--it's been haunting my thoughts ever since I finished the other painting. I started working on it before.. things went to hell, but the first draft got lost with my apartment." 

"You have another painting to do?" Sinhika came over from her conversation with Khara, one eyebrow raised. Then her gaze fell on the sketch. 

" _Achintya! Aadhyaatmikuum Kshatriyaa!_ " Sinhika snatched the drawing from Sean's hands, staring at the writing around the edges, her lips mouthing words no one could follow. 

"What does that mean?" Bulma asked. 

Sinhika handed the drawing back to a startled Sean. "Hold that where I can see it!" She turned toward her brother "Khara! Look at this!" Sinhika pointed at the writing on Sean's sketch. 

Prince Khara walked over with short, quick steps. "Ah!" he exclaimed, and pulled a ivory tube from inside his embroidered jacket. He opened it, and delicately withdrew an ancient scroll, which he unrolled and held out for Sinhika. 

"Huh?" said Sean, embarassed to be suddenly getting so much attention. He looked up at the scroll Sinhika was now displaying. "They're the same!" he exclaimed. "What is this?" 

"Yes, it is so. See, along each edge, framing the picture.. the first four verses of the Mantras of Compassion." He looked at his sister. "Father said you would know who must say them, and for whom. This is a sign--it is time for them to be invoked." The unspoken question hung in the air between them. 

Sinhika looked intently at Bulma. "Forgive me; I did not tell you the whole truth before. _Aadhyaatmikuum Kshatriyaa_ means 'Ghost Prince'; it is the title we gave Vegeta when he came to Lankha weeks ago seeking our father, who is Vibishana the Good Demon, King of the Rakshasas." 

Sinhika gingerly handed the ancient parchment to Bulma. "The Mantras of Compassion are prayers of healing.. and resurrection. My father once taught them to Hanuman, to restore Rama's army that was slain fighting against Ravanna to rescue Sita; now I must teach it to you." 

Bulma's eyes widened, and the blue-haired woman sat down quickly as her legs suddenly turned to jelly. "But how can I...?" 

"They must be recited over the slain, by one who is compassionate--one who loves them. You are the one who weeps for the Prince; no other can call on the gods to do this." 

Bulma looked out the window at the night, up at the mountain behind Goku's house. She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "I will do it." 

*      *      *      *

"YIIII!" Gohan narrowly dodged Cacodemon's breath-blast. The titanic blast streaked past him to annihilate the hill behind him, sending a cloud of dust and ash high into the air. 

After his own disasterous attack on the Chaos demon, Gohan learned not to throw ki blasts at the monster. "First the Ochimo ghosts, then the Opawang, and now him! Isn't there anything I can fight anymore?? I can't even hit him with my hands, I just bounce off!" 

It followed him; after all the screaming about a curse, it hadn't been hard for Gohan to figure out that the demon was after him, personally. Fortunately, that meant the demon would follow him out of the city, away from the innocent people who lived there. Unfortunately, that meant the demon would follow him and keep trying to kill him, while Gohan could do nothing but keep ducking and dodging. 

"I hope Dad gets back soon. Maybe he'll know how to stop this thing." Gohan tried to reassure himself as he dodged a slashing claw and deflected another eye-beam attack. 

Something green whipped between Cacodemon's dinosaurian legs; the demon bellowed and fell, toppled again. Piccolo darted out from under the falling demon. 

"All power and speed, but no training. Even a first year student wouldn't let himself be tripped like that." Piccolo commented as he joined Gohan--then Goku flickered into existance beside them. 

"Hi, guys! I see you got him out of town; good thing. Too many people were getting hurt." Goku smiled at Gohan, relieved to see his son unhurt. 

"Dad, how do we stop him? You do have a plan, right?" Gohan looked worried. 

"Um, I'm working on one." Goku tried to sound confident, but Gohan saw through his apparent confidence. 

"You don't know how to stop him!" Gohan worried as Cacodemon regained his feet. 

"We've got to buy time, Gohan--it fell apart last time, it might do it this time if we push it hard enough. He's actually weaker than Perfect Cell was--most of his power was stolen from us. He's just hard to hurt--but we'll figure out a way to stop him. Besides, he's lost his follower demons; that weakened him even more," Goku said reassuringly--but he was wrong, terribly wrong. Cacodemon _had_ been weakened--months before, when he first separated Deputy from himself. Since then, he'd picked and chosen the gifts of Chaos, making himself infinitely stronger. 

"DIE, FOOLS!" Cacodemon leaped into the air and breathed white fire at Gohan and Goku--Gohan dodged reflexively. Unexpectedly, the chaos demon's head twitched to one side and twin eye beams lashed out, narrowly missing Gohan on the other side--again, Gohan dodged. Another head twitch, and Gohan dodged away from the attack, back in the other direction. Barrage after barrage followed, in rapid succession, driving Gohan lower and further back along the same line. 

Piccolo was the first to see what was happening. "GOHAN! NO--HE'S GOT YOU IN A PATTERN! GET OUT OF HIS REACH, NOW!" He hurtled toward Gohan, ready for action. 

Goku acted more directly, diving for the monster's vulnerable-looking wings. 

Three things happened at once--Cacodemon vomited a column of white fury at Gohan, who dodged--directly into the path of Cacodemon's deadly tail stinger. Piccolo knocked Gohan aside as the spear-sized stinger sought the young man's body; Cacodemon snapped his wings back and together, hard, catching Goku between them. 

"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" Piccolo gave a great cry as the stinger plunged into his abdomen and out his back, impaling him. 

"PICCOLO--AAAAAAHHHHHH!!" Gohan's cry of dismay turned into a scream of pain as Cacodemon's eye beams sought and found him, burning his shirt away and blasting him from the sky. 

Goku didn't cry out as wingbones harder than steel I-beams crushed him between them; the massive blow knocked the breath out of him--all he could do was gasp once before the wings flicked open and flung him across the night-dark sky. 

Cacodemon brought his tail tip up to eye level and regarded the impaled, writhing Namek with disdain for a few moments. "NOT SAIYAJIN." A flick of his tail, and Piccolo smashed into the earth, digging a deep Piccolo-sized crater. 

The demonic Chaos god located the crater containing Gohan, who was just staggering to his feet, and spat white fire once again, a great blast of Gohan's own captured energy. Once again, the very rocks cracked and vaporized as a huge fireball swelled out and retreated, leaving behind a mushrooming cloud of dust and ash. 

Cacodemon grinned. The curse was fulfilled... No, it was not. The brat still lived! Cacodemon howled his rage at the night-dark sky and flapped his wings, coursing toward his prey. 

Battered, burnt, dazed, Gohan staggered to his feet in the midst of a vast, deep crater. Cacodemon was coming straight for him, and the young Saiyajin had barely enough strength to stand. He looked up into mocking crimson eyes, and saw doom. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XXXII. CONVERGENCE POINT


	33. XXXII. Convergence Point

## XXXII. CONVERGENCE POINT

Gohan looked up as the demon plunged down. If only he had a moment to catch his breath, to let his strength return! It wasn't all gone, he was still super-Saiyajin. With what seemed a last effort of his burning muscles, he flung himself aside as the great talons slashed down. 

Gohan didn't dodge the eye-beams; the crimson lasers stung like burning whips, slashing him and flinging him to the ground again. He started to drag himself to his feet--the beams lashed him again, slamming down on his face. His back felt like it had been flayed. Gohan tucked his feet under his body, rolled, and jumped to his feet in spite of his protesting muscles. 

Another barrage of eye-beams hit Gohan and chewed up the ground all around him; Gohan went flying, savagely buffeted by the storm of ki energy. Cacodemon crouched low over the youth like a huge, winged Tyrannosaur ready to leap on its prey. Crimson eyes narrowed as Cacodemon regarded Gohan; black tendrils writhed in waves along its mouth. The gem in the middle of its forehead still glowed and pulsed rhythmically. 

Cacodemon began to switch his tail from side to side, like a great cat; each swing was in time with the pulsing gem. The great crimson eyes opened wide, and stared at Gohan, great glowing, swirling portals into hell. 

Looking into those gigantic, terrible eyes, Gohan felt infinitely small. What could he possibly do against a monster like this? How could one small boy defeat the embodiment of murder and violence and evil? Either the stinger would finally slip past his defenses and he'd be dead before he felt it like Vegeta, or the monster's sheer power would overwhelm him. He would die, and Dad would die, and then the demon would go on to kill Mom and Goten and Bulma and everyone he knew--all because of him. The demon wanted Gohan dead for killing the Opawang; everything else was secondary. The fight was hopeless; they couldn't beat the demon; maybe if he was dead, it would leave them alone... 

A sullen anger began to heat up Gohan's aching body; something in him rebelled against the demon's message of despair. First Nappa, then later Recoome, Frieza, Garlic, Cell and now this demon--hating him and hurting him for no other reason than he existed and got in their way! He was tired of it, and angry, as angry as he'd ever been at anything before, angry at this horrid monster that wanted him dead. 

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Gohan screamed with rage and power as raw energy seethed through his body, spiking his hair out in all directions, enveloping him in a corona of yellow fire. 

Cacodemon's lethal tail darted forward--and was parried; Gohan deflected the deadly stinger, once, twice, more times than he could count as the demon stabbed at him repeatedly. Venom dripped from the stinger tip, but none of the lethal toxin reached Gohan. 

"ENOUGH!" yelled Gohan; he grabbed the six-foot bone needle in both hands and twisted, then pulled-- 

Cacodemon howled as the young Saiyajin ripped his stinger out. The great demon staggered back a step, and whipped the wounded end of his tail out of Gohan's reach. Gohan darted into the air, a streak of golden flame; a harsh scream of monstrous rage followed Gohan high into the air. 

Another golden streak joined him. "Son, what happened? You weren't even trying to defend yourself at first!" Worry shaded Goku's voice. 

Gohan shook his head. What had he been thinking? He _knew_ better than that! He remembered the confidence dad always had in him, and knew his father was right. "Dad.. don't look in his eyes. He can hypnotize you or something.. make you think he's unbeatable, and that you should just give up." 

"Gohan, are you okay?" There was something in Gohan's face that Goku did not like. 

"I'm--well.. no. I can't tell, now, if I was scared because he's unbeatable, or because he made me scared and made me think he's unbeatable. 'Course," Gohan smiled at his father, "if I refuse to be scared for any reason at all, it doesn't matter, does it?" 

"He's not unbeatable--but he learned a lot about us from our first fight, and he's got new techniques to keep us from beating him the same way. So, we have to use something new." 

Something green flashed up at the edge of Gohan's vision; the boy quickly turned his head. "PICCOLO!" Gohan yelled joyfully. "I thought you were dead! The demon stung you..." 

Piccolo smiled wryly. "No tree ever died of snakebite, Gohan. A Namek is less like a Saiyajin than a human is like a tree." The Namek's smile turned into a snarl, one lip curling up to expose a fang. "Cacodemon's venom is made to kill Saiyajin very quickly and very thoroughly; it does not work very well on anything else." 

Below them, the fell demon flapped his massive wings, slowly climbing towards the small group. Gohan smiled fiercely. "You're right, dad! There's a way to beat him, and we'll find it!" 

Piccolo shuddered as a spasm of pain crossed his face. "Gohan, I--" Another spasm shook him. 

"Piccolo! What's wrong? I thought the poison didn't hurt you?" Gohan's confidence suddenly turned to worry. 

"Not.. poison." Piccolo was shivering violently, as if cold. "Something wrong.. with arm, shoulder.. where he bit me." Green flesh was turning dark, swelling, _changing_. "Gohan.. stay back..." Piccolo's face twisted with pain; he threw his head back and howled, falling out of the sky as his strength failed him momentarily. 

"PICCOLO!" Gohan shouted, and dove after him--only to stop abruptly as Goku grabbed him. "Dad! What are you--" 

"No! Don't follow him!" Goku pulled his son back. "The demon's bite is bad--remember the monsters that kept you from following Vegeta?" 

"The monsters? But they were just people who were..." Gohan trailed off, eyes widening with sudden realization. "..who were transformed by Cacodemon's spit! PICCOLO! NOOOOOOO!" 

As the horrified Gohan watched, branched antlers sprouted from Piccolo's head, wreathing it, and his flesh turned darker and leathery. His cape and pants shredded away as razor-sharp bony spikes emerged from his spine and joints. 

"YES!" thundered Cacodemon. "HE IS MINE!" 

*      *      *      *

Pain and confusion tore through Piccolo as unnatural changes wracked his body. His very thoughts were twisted, chaotic--vicious pain stabbed through his head every time the Namek tried to sort through his conflicting emotions and swirling thoughts. 

The mind that had been a bastion of cool reason was submerged in a sea of passions and pain. His very body deformed painfully; somewhere beyond himself, others waited for him. One was the source of his pain, Piccolo knew; what were the others? Which was which? Emotion became pain; the strongest emotion was the greatest pain--and Piccolo lashed out at the greatest agony of all. 

*      *      *      *

"YIIIIIII!" Gohan dodged frantically as the transformed Piccolo charged him, striking with all his power. "PICCOLO! STOP! It's me, Gohan!" 

Goku took one look at Piccolo's distended, blood-shot eyes and thought he knew the truth. "Gohan! Be careful! Piccolo's not himself! Cacodemon's got control of him somehow!" 

The chaos-twisted Namek turned to Goku, empty eyes peering out from antler-crowned brow. A spasm of pain passed over his face and he howled, rushing to attack. 

Goku and Piccolo whirled about each other, a storm of blows, feints and blocks. Piccolo seemed unable to do other than hammer madly at Goku, and Goku held back, afraid that he might harm his friend and Gohan's teacher. Engrossed in the fight, Goku did not hear the sound of monstrous wings flapping. 

"Dad! Cacodemon's getting away!" Gohan's frantic shout broke through his concentration. 

"Forgive me, Piccolo." Goku said apologetically, then rammed his fist deep into the dark Namek's stomach. A follow-up blow slammed into the back of Piccolo's neck--and Goku yelped, clutching a sliced and bloody hand. Those bone spurs were _sharp_! 

Piccolo plumetted down; Goku looked around. The immense power of Cacodemon receded as the demon flapped off toward the east--toward his home. Toward Chi-chi, Goten, Bulma and Raditz, who were helpless against him. 

"GOHAN! We have to stop him---ARRGGGHH!" Piccolo came from below, striking savagely upward to gore Goku with his antlers. 

*      *      *      *

"What the--?" Vegeta was the first to spot the demon tiger chariot as it coursed through the air above the rim of Mount Bakhau. "Impossible! What is _he_ doing here?" 

Mogris squinted, trying to pick out the tiny shape that Vegeta was watching so intently. "My eyes are not so good as yours; who is impossible and is he an enemy?" 

"Not so far," growled Vegeta, suddenly guarded. The chariot turned toward them, and rapidly drew near. 

"So who do you know in a silver-chased chariot, wearing a dark red cape and silver armor, with dark blue hair?" Mogris asked as she unlimbered her shield. 

"King Vibishana." And so it proved as the chariot touched down before Vegeta, and the sapphire-eyed demon king looked down at the dead Saiyan prince. 

"I should have heeded Khara's judgment as to your return path; I would have found you sooner," said the Rakshasa King as he dismounted from the chariot. 

"What are you doing here?" snarled Vegeta. 

"I am here to bring you back to Earth," said the demon Vibishana, "and there is little time. Come, I will be your charioteer." 

"What??" Vegeta's eyes narrowed as he regarded the demon king suspiciously. "How did you know I was ready? And what is wrong with time?" A coldness gripped him; had he lost track of time? Had years, decades, centuries passed while he pursued his quest to the edge of creation? 

"Cacodemon is loosed upon the Earth--and more powerful than before. I knew that you would be ready--you would not have come forward in time otherwise, Prince Vegeta." The Rakshasa King climbed up into the charioteer's position. 

Prince Vegeta climbed into the enchanted chariot that once belonged to Prince Indrajit, in the long-ago, and held up his hand when King Vibishana would have goaded the tigers to fly. "Mogris comes with us." 

Vibishana nodded in acknowledgement as Mogris climbed into the chariot behind Vegeta. Finally the tigers spread their wings... 

*      *      *      *

Halfway up the mountain, Raditz looked sharply to the east. "Something happened." 

"What?" Prince Khara looked around, suddenly wary; his right hand rested on the hilt of the great hand-and-half sword at his side. 

"Yes.. what?" Bulma gasped, already out of breath from their climb up the mountain--or rather, _her_ climb. Everyone else could fly. 

"Piccolo--his power dropped, and then changed," Raditz said impassively. "Gohan's taken a beating too, but his power went way up a little bit ago--kid must have gotten mad." Raditz chuckled. 

"I think," said Sinhika nervously, "we should hurry." 

"Yes, we should," said Raditz as he offered his hand to a struggling Bulma. 

"You could all fly there, and Raditz could carry me there," she answered. "Except I'm the only one here who knows exactly where Vegeta is buried, and I can't fly OR see in the dark!" 

Bulma was wrong about one thing: one other person knew exactly where his father was buried. Trunks slipped quietly up the mountain path, following his mother and the others in the dark. 

*      *      *      *

WHAAAM! Piccolo slammed into the ground, shaking and cracking it. 

"I'm sorry, Piccolo, but I can't let you hurt my dad! I know you'll understand when you are yourself again." Gohan raised his arms as the demonic Namek raised his dark, antler-wreathed face from the earth. 

"MAA-SEN-KO!" Gohan's ki bolt flashed down, striking the warped Piccolo square in the chest. It exploded in a cloud of fire and smoke, obscuring everything from view. 

"Gohan! Can you hold Piccolo off for a while?" Goku appeared beside his son, breathing hard. "I have to stop Cacodemon." Goku's face turned hard. "He's going after the children again." 

"Yes. I will, Dad." Gohan replied confidently, hiding the pain deep within. 

"I knew you could." Goku looked carefully at his son. "Piccolo will be all right." 

"You think so, Dad?" Gohan looked at him, puzzled, but trusting. 

"Yes. We will set things right, and that includes Piccolo." Goku said, and Gohan could see the pain and anger in his father's eyes. Goku's kindly heart would never accept the pain and death caused by evil--he would do everything in his power to undo the evil that had been done. 

"Don't worry, I don't think you could hurt Piccolo without being as mad as you were at Cell. All you need to do is keep him busy for a while." 

"Okay, Dad." Gohan nodded at his father. Goku waved back, and vanished in a flicker-flash of light. 

*      *      *      *

Bulma stumbled to a halt in the small meadow, out of breath, tired and.. overwhelmed. This place always overwhelmed her, the place where her love lay buried, where she'd said her last goodbyes and wondered if he could hear them. 

Are you here, Vegeta? she asked silently. Do you know what is happening? Will you come back to me? She reached up and untied the ribbon holding her hair back, letting the soft blue cloud of it tumble down to her shoulders. 

A soft glow suddenly lit the small meadow, revealing the boulders with the inscription carved into them. Bulma jumped, and looked behind her--oh. Just Raditz, lighting the night with his own power. The two rakshasa demons stood close by, slightly ill-at-ease. At the sight of them, Bulma felt suddenly uneasy herself. Whether the Mantras worked or not, whether they invoked powers holy or blasphemous, Bulma knew she could not do this with two demons looking over the grave of her prince. They didn't belong here. Raditz belonged here, at the side of his prince--but the demons did not. 

Bulma looked at Sinhika and Khara. "You'll have to go. You have taught me what I need to know, but you cannot be here when I.. waken Vegeta. I'm sorry, but it just.. isn't right." 

Sinhika opened her mouth to protest, but then Khara laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "No, she is right. We do not belong here. We will be down the path a small way if you should need us." 

"I think.." Bulma hesitated, "it would be better if you went all the way back to the house. I have a hunch that it would be.. safer." 

Prince Khara bowed briefly to Bulma. "It will be as you say. Come, Sinhika." The Rakshasa prince rose into the air, followed by Sinhika, and swooped down the mountain toward the distant lights of the house. 

Raditz picked up a length of fallen wood, ignited it, and stuck it in the ground as an impromptu torch. "I think," he said impassively, "you should do what must be done _soon_." The tall Saiyajin looked toward the west. "Cacodemon is coming." 

Bulma swallowed hard. "There's just one problem," she said. "The Mantras are supposed to be recited just before dawn, at the first sign of light." 

Raditz glanced at the dark, starless sky. "How long until dawn?" 

Bulma shivered. "It should have come hours ago." 

*      *      *      *

WHAAM! WHAAM! WHAAM! Goku hammered Cacodemon's skull and jaws with mountain-shattering blows, causing the demon to wobble in flight. Each time he struck, Goku had to dodge as the great demon snapped at him, teeth clashing shut where he had just been. Still the demon flew on, seemingly untouched, still cushioned by the thick hair and rubbery hide and power far vaster than any dragon or dinosaur. 

Good thing I can dodge him a lot better than I dodged Vegeta when _he_ was a giant monster! Goku's eyes narrowed as he studied the ponderously flying demon. All of the stolen energy had been absorbed into that huge gem on the demon's forehead... Goku circled back and over the demon's head from behind. 

"HAAAAAAIIII-YAAA!" A single perfect blow slammed into the great gem, driven with all the strength in Goku's body-- 

"AAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!" Goku howled as his hand plunged into the blazing ruby and seemed to fuse with it--and his life poured into the gem. Brighter than a star the gem blazed, and hot--burning Goku's body and searing his trapped hand as he collapsed helplessly across the gem, his power draining away faster than he could move. 

Cacodemon laughed that harsh clashing metal sound. "FOOL! NOW.. DIE!" The long tail whipped up, the newly regenerated stinger dripping with venom, arched over Cacodemon's back and plunged down-- 

"Go..han.." Goku gasped, as, with the last of his strength, he put two fingers to his forehead and reached out to his son... 

*      *      *      *

"KAKAROTT!" Raditz staggered as if he'd been struck, and the expression on his face was that of a man who has taken his deathwound. "Goku..." Sweat beaded on his forehead. He turned to Bulma, a snarl of anger replacing the mortal shock. 

She looked back at him, eyes wide and scared. "What--what happened?" 

"The demon.. killed my brother. I felt his power fade suddenly, then vanish." There was an odd flatness to his voice that made Bulma shiver; it was worse than his grimness when the Opawang attacked them in the mountains. "Gohan and Piccolo are far away; Cacodemon comes." 

"Son-kun! I.." Bulma gulped as the tears started to drip from her eyes. She couldn't say anything more--not about Goku. He couldn't be gone! Not him, too; not again! "We're going to die, aren't we?" 

"NO! Not if I can help it! I'll take you back to the house; the Rakshasas can hide you and everyone from the monster." Raditz strode across the tiny meadow and grabbed Bulma by the arm. 

"No, Raditz! They can't hide me--we know that already. The demon will come after us anyway--it knows where we are, no matter what Sinhika and Khara do. There's no place to hide." Bulma looked at him, determined. "I won't run--I refuse to spend the rest of my life running from that monster while it destroys everyone who gets between it and me." 

"So you'll just let it kill you? You can't fight it!" Raditz snarled, his voice thick with anger. The veins on his forehead stood out. 

"I can't--but you can. Son-kun..." Bulma choked back a sob. "If you and Goku and Gohan can't stop the thing.. who can? It doesn't matter if I stay up here, by Vegeta, or hide in the house--it'll be the same in the end. Either you will all beat the thing, or we.. will all die." Bulma wiped away more tears. 

Raditz released her arm and stepped back to stare at this perpetually surprising woman. "Damn this! I can't argue with you, woman." His lips curved up in that sly smile Bulma had gotten to know well. "Damn my stupidity for meeting you first--and then getting killed. I hope Vegeta knows how lucky he is!" 

The big, long-haired Saiyajin looked out into the night, toward the unseen threat of Cacodemon. "We don't have very long; I'll do what I can to hold him off--and that's more than you might think!" Raditz smirked again. "You do what you think best..." he trailed off, brows furrowing with worry. 

Bulma bit hard on her trembling lip. "What's the matter?" 

"I can't leave you alone and unprotected up here! But if I wait to fight until he gets here.. the demon will be able to kill you too easily." His head turned from her toward the distant demon and back. 

"Mother will not be alone, Raditz-san." Trunks stepped out of the shadows. 

Raditz started and blinked, then smiled wryly. "Good--no, _excellent_ job hiding your ki, young prince." 

"TRUNKS!" Bulma shrieked. "You're supposed to be safe in bed!" 

"I'm sorry, mother, but I have to be here--to help bring back father." The young boy's eyes were very wide, and his face was solemn. 

"Young man, you will go right back to the house. RADITZ! Take Trunks and--" 

"No." Raditz smiled knowingly at Trunks and folded his arms; he understood. "The _young prince_ has as much right to be here as you do." 

"What? Raditz, he's only a five-year-old boy! It's much too dangerous!" 

"He is a Saiyan warrior and a prince, no matter what his age. Do you think he wants his father back any less than you do? Do you think he would do any less than you to get Vegeta back? Do honor and duty weigh any the less because he is young? Rather, he feels the burden more keenly, because he has so little power to abide by its demands. Respect the duty he has to _his father_!" The big Saiyajin spoke calmly, yet with unusual sternness. 

Bulma looked into her son's eyes. "He is his father's son," she agreed. 

*      *      *      *

Far above the Earth, the great black cloud that coiled around the planet began to break up. Released from the serpentine coils that had held it suspended for a time, the world turned again; as the banks of unnatural cloud broke up, the stars began to peek through the night side once again. Long-delayed dawn began to seep across the sky around the world. 

*      *      *      *

Raditz plunged through the air toward the distant but rapidly nearing demon. As he gathered ki in one hand, he tried not to think that he would probably die, his death accomplishing nothing save to help the demon fulfill the Opawang's death curse. It didn't help, trying to avoid thinking, but the dark thoughts were drowned out in the rising exhilaration of impending battle--a battle he would fight with _all_ his powers. 

The demon was near enough, now. Raditz flung the sphere of energy high into the sky, where it exploded into a glowing ball of silvery lunar light. With _all_ my powers, he thought as the energy of transformation started to pulse through him. 

With a roar like thunder, a great, maned ouzaru in white armor leaped into the air and grappled Cacodemon, dragging the surprised monster from the air. A huge ape-like hand darted out and seized the demon's deadly tail, wringing the venom-dripping stinger until it snapped off. Another hairy arm held the Chaos demon in a head lock, keeping the monster's snarling jaws immobile and out of reach. 

Cacodemon gurgled with rage through his clenched teeth and raked the maned ouzaru's arm with its acid-slimed claws. Wings flapped wildly, half-blinding the maned ouzaru as it pinned the monstrous demon to the earth, grinding its left knee into the demon's back. 

The great ape bit deep into the demon's left shoulder and spat out a gobbet of blubbery hide--only to see the wound boil as the torn flesh regenerated faster than the blood could pour out of it. The maned ouzaru growled, and tightened his grip on the demon's tail; the new stinger was already protruding from the rapidly healing appendage. Tearing it off again wouldn't help. 

The maned ouzaru growled and bit the demon again; with one swift thrust, he jammed the tail stinger deep into the wound, and hammered it with all his strength, his fist driving it into the demon's back like a nail. 

Cacodemon squealed thinly through his trapped jaws and stopped clawing madly at the imprisoning arm. Slowly and deliberately the huge demon grabbed the ouzaru's arm at the wrist and with tremendous effort, pulled the arm away from his throat, the gem on his head pulsing with a blinding light. Though smaller than the great ouzaru, Cacodemon was far, far stronger, and ripe with Goku's stolen power. 

Far above, a few stars peered through the thinning haze of star dust, and the sky began to lighten in the east. 

*      *      *      *

"DAD! Eat this, it's a senzu bean!" Barely conscious, Goku obediently swallowed the small object someone was shoving in his mouth. He snapped wide-awake as strength and warmth flooded back into him; wounds closed and burnt skin flaked away, replaced by new. 

"Gohan! I made it!" Goku exclaimed, smiling at his son as he flexed his newly-healed hand. "I wasn't sure I had enough strength left..." He looked around; he was stretched out on the ground, high up on a forested hill. He frowned; he could sense the demon--and _something_ that felt like Raditz grown stronger and wilder. Something missing.. "Where's Piccolo?" 

"Umm.. unconscious, I think." Gohan was reluctant to continue. "I need a senzu for him.. he's in pain, and his thoughts are so confused, that's why he attacked us. I don't think Cacodemon is actually controlling him." 

"Are you sure?" Goku asked as he rose to his feet and adjusted his gi. 

"Pretty sure." Gohan nodded. 

Goku reached into his pouch and handed Gohan three senzu beans. "Here, you may need some, too. It's getting rough." 

"Thanks, Dad!" Gohan smiled and darted into the air, and stopped, hovering. 

"Gohan-- don't hit the demon's gem. That's how I got hurt--it sucks energy out of you if you touch it." 

Gohan nodded. "The Opawang could do that, too." 

"Once you've taken care of Piccolo, I need your help against the demon. Raditz is the only one fighting it now, and it's a lot closer to home." Goku's face turned stern as he looked toward the distant demon. 

"Raditz?? But he's not strong enough--oh." Gohan suddenly realized the significance of the glowing orb in the sky. "I forgot, he still has his tail!" 

"Hurry, Gohan; he's still not strong enough." 

*      *      *      *

Long, razor-sharp claws sank into the maned ouzaru's arm and heaved; the great demon flexed its whole body and flung the ouzaru headlong. 

WHOOOMMM! Cacodemon spat a great gout of raw power at the maned ouzaru; it struck the great ape as he struggled to rise. The white blast struck and exploded with hellish fury; the fireball boiled up and up into the atmosphere, finally collapsing in an immense cloud of smoke and ash that rose to the lowermost reaches of the upper atmosphere, and drifted on the upper winds, coloring sunsets for weeks afterwards. 

For good measure, the great Chaos demon blasted blindly with his eye beams through the smoke, toward the focal point of his attack. After some minutes of this, he stopped, snarling. 

Then Goku appeared out of nowhere, and punched Cacodemon in the nose. The demon reared back, startled at the sudden attack, snarled, and snapped at Goku, who dodged easily-- and then suddenly back again as the tail stabbed at him from the other direction. 

"WHOA!" Goku dodged the lethal stinger as well--and then the eyebeams hit him and sent him careening into the side of a mountain. "Oh, no! He's all powered up with MY power!" Goku dodged frantically as Cacodemon spat white fire at him, annihilating the mountain he'd just hit. Goku vanished in the fireball as it swelled to envelope him. 

"LEAVE MY DAD ALONE, YOU BIG BULLY!" Gohan slammed hard into Cacodemon's ankle, and the demon came crashing down; Cacodemon's balance was as bad as ever. As the demon thrashed, Gohan lifted a shattered chunk of mountain with his mind and hurled it down on the demon. 

The angry demon looked up, and disintegrated it with a flash of his crimson eyes. With a snap of his wings, the demon catapulted himself into the air, and crimson beams darted past Gohan's head like bullets. Gohan didn't dodge--the demon's attack was astray--and that saved him, as a bolt of white fire boomed past through the space where he would have dodged to. 

"Whew!" Gohan ignored the miss, which parted the very air and slashed deep into space, striking the moon's dark face. The hidden orb exploded, sending chunks of rock and gravel into a myriad of orbits--some to deep space, some to plunge into the atmosphere as an unexpected meteor shower, and the rest to orbit Earth as an eternal hazard to space travel. Thus did Earth acquire its first ring. 

Another barrage of eye-beams chased Gohan, who dodged them confidently--he'd seen this pattern before. Next comes the tail, he thought, preparing to dodge the stinger again. 

CLONK! A sudden strike of the demon's clawed hand sent Gohan reeling as he caught part of the unexpected blow. Don't get cocky, he thought muzzily as he started to right himself-- 

WHOOOMMM! Another great blast of white fire, this time enveloping Gohan. Another mountain vanished in the fireball and surging smoke cloud. Cacodemon followed through with a few desultory eye-beams, and then waited for the smoke to settle. The whelp's power had dropped dramatically; he was probably unconscious. The great demon grinned, and flexed his venomous tail, readying it to strike. Cacodemon licked his teeth with a pointed black tongue; the other Saiyajin of the curse was also unconscious, and only needed a touch of his tail.. and that smoke cloud was almost clear. He raised his wings, ready to snap them down and launch himself into the air-- 

Goku appeared. His chest heaved and his breath came in great gasps, his gi was almost burned away. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He stood between Cacodemon and his prey, and smirked. "You can't beat me that easily!" 

Cacodemon studied Goku for long minutes as the smoke cloud cleared. "YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME AND SAVE THE CHILD BOTH. ONE OF YOU WILL DIE!" Cacodemon spat white fire at the crater now visible beneath the clearing smoke. 

A flicker-flash, and Goku vanished, only to appear between the oncoming attack and Gohan. He threw both hands up, blocking the attack, blocking his own titanic power thrown at him. Back and back he was forced, unti he stood in the crater beside a battered, unconscious Gohan, holding off the tremendous beam. Goku's arms ached and burned from the effort; sweat poured off his entire body, and his entire will was concentrated into one point--a point under unbearable pressure. His aura brightened, and wild yellow sparks cracked and flew about it. 

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Goku screamed as he made one final effort--and deflected the terrible beam away from his son, up into the air, where it plunged on into deep space to explode far beyond sight or sound. He collapsed to his knees beside Gohan, every muscle shaking. 

The demon snapped his wings down and half-lept, half-flew to the crater where the two Saiyajin lay. Before Cacodemon could do more than snarl and start to bring his tail up, both Goku and Gohan flickered and vanished. Cacodemon howled his rage until the very rocks cracked and broke. 

Great wings flapped as Cacodemon descended on the other crater where a great maned ape sprawled unconscious, bleeding and burned. The Chaos demon flexed his tail and lashed out, the deadly stinger plunging down toward the helpless ouzaru-- 

"GREAT PARRY!" A woman's voice rang out, and Cacodemon's stinger glanced off a rune-painted shield. The holder of the shield appeared out of nowhere, between Cacodemon and his prey; a small, auburn-haired woman clad in maroon and blue armor. In her left hand, the great round shield painted with the runes of Death and Earth fended off the Chaos demon's stinger; in her right hand she held a long spear, graven with the runes of Air and Fire, ready to throw. 

"AN ORLANTHI? HERE?" Cacodemon reared back; for the first time since he came forward from Before Time, the Chaos demon's confidence was shaken. A little. A very, very little. "DIE, WINDPRIESTESS!" He vomited white fire at the woman-- 

Impossibly, her shield deflected it, deflected an attack that would have staggered Goku at the height of his power. Half the world away, a mountain range exploded into dust and vapor. High above, the sphere of lunar light burst at the touch of a black steel arrow and faded away. 

"Have you forgotten the Shield of Arran, Cacodemon? The Earth itself is my shield, foul slime of Chaos!" She raised the spear. "LIGHTNING SPEAR!" The lightning bolt flashed from her hand to Cacodemon-- 

The lightning bolt struck square on the blazing jewel in his forehead, struck and sunk into its depths without a trace. Cacodemon grinned. Mogris looked at her empty right hand. The Lightning Spear was gone. 

"ORLANTH IS DEAD, HE HAS NO POWER HERE, FOOLISH WINDWHORE!" Cacodemon laughed harshly. "NOW MY LAST ENEMIES DIE!" He turned his head toward the fallen ouzaru--and stopped. The great maned ape was gone. Nothing but an empty crater lay before him. 

*      *      *      *

The first light of dawn peeked above the horizon as Bulma spoke the words. All her sorrow and loss and love for her fallen prince went into that prayer, and the world wept with her, and the very heavens asked, What can we do to help her? 

And the Preserver answered. 

Half the mountain exploded beneath Bulma's feet. Power burst from the mountain as the sun touched it, power that shivered stone and sent it flying miles into the air. By some miracle, none of the boulders fell on the Son house nestled below the mountain. A familiar power protected Bulma and Trunks from the consuming fury that would have burned the flesh from their bones and vaporized the bones. Bulma felt herself and Trunks cradled in a sphere of cool power as the dust settled and the smoke cleared. 

"Silly woman--I told you I'd be back!" Vegeta said. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XXXIII. COUNTERCHAOS


	34. XXXIII. Counterchaos

## XXXIII. COUNTERCHAOS

"Silly woman--I told you I'd be back!" 

Bulma stared, open-mouthed with astonishment, trembling with joy. Vegeta--her Vegeta!--was here, right in front of her! He looked.. good; very, very good. He smirked in his usual way, looking at Bulma, but there was something different in his eyes as his glance jumped from Bulma to Trunks and back to Bulma again. His dark eyes glittered in anticipation, and his compact, muscular body radiated a poise, a confidence that Bulma had not seen in him since before the fight with Cell. Seeing him like this, she suddenly realized how much spirit he'd lost when Goku died... a light in him had been dimmed, nearly put out; now it was rekindled, more brilliant than ever. 

He still wore the Saiyan-style armor Bulma had made for him back then, the armor he'd thrown on as he hastened to rescue them from Cacodemon's first attack--and it still showed evidence of the terrible end of that battle: a fist-sized hole punched through it, front and back. But covering that, something new--a splendid cloak of shimmering white fur, so brilliant white it dazzled Bulma as the morning sun glittered off of it. Bulma's gaze darted to another new thing--the furry _white_ tail wrapped around Vegeta's waist. 

"Vegeta! You-- your-- your tail!" Bulma stammered, unable to say anything coherent in the rush of emotions sweeping her. She felt light-headed, as if she might jump a mile into the air and start flying at any moment. 

Trunks just stared at his father, silent and wide-eyed. "Papa?" 

Bulma started at that; Trunks had always been so formal whenever he talked about his father in the last few months. A smile crept across Vegeta's face for a brief moment that hung in the air... 

And vanished in a scowl. "Stupid woman, what were you thinking to come up here with my son? Always rushing into things without thinking; you did not need to be here! It certainly does not matter to me--I have more important things to worry about!" A light breeze blew over the shattered mountain, ruffling Vegeta's crest of upswept black hair as he folded his arms, still scowling. 

Bulma smiled knowingly; she understood Vegeta-ese better than anyone--although sometimes she suspected that Goku understood the prickly prince just as well as she did. The familiar abrasiveness steadied her, helped her pull coherence out of the maelstrom of emotion. 

"Of course not! What are these _important_ things you have to worry about, my prince?" she asked mockingly. "And what are you doing with a _tail_?" 

Trunks, looking on, blushed and smiled, hiding his smile beneath his hand. He understood Vegeta-ese fairly well, too--though the subtler points escaped him. 

Vegeta looked off into the distance, in the direction Raditz had flown, and then back at Bulma. "I have a demon to kill, since Kakarott botched the job, like he botched killing Frieza." He uncurled his white furry tail, revealing the black tip, switched it from side to side, and curled it around his waist again. He smirked. "So I kept this, too. Interesting." 

"Too?" Bulma asked with a tilt of her eyebrows. 

As if in answer, Vegeta lifted the exquisite white fur from his shoulders and wrapped it around Bulma, then picked her up. He reached for Trunks, to carry him, but Trunks shook his head and rose into the air beside his father. 

"I can fly now, Papa! Goku-san and Raditz-san taught me how!" Trunks stated proudly. 

Vegeta stared at his son in surprise; at Goku's name, Bulma felt his muscles quiver slightly, then relax. "Raditz, too? Not only is he alive, he's been doing something useful!" Vegeta laughed. 

"He saved my _life_ , Vegeta! Several times." Bulma snapped, not amused with Vegeta's contempt toward the long-haired Saiyajin. "And Trunks, too." 

"Did he?" Vegeta was suddenly thoughtful. "I chose better than I knew." They were high in the air now, and Vegeta suddenly stooped on the Son house, far below. 

"You will wait here," he said as they dropped lightly onto the lawn. Vegeta glanced at his son. "You can fly; can you fight?" 

"Yes, papa. Goku-san and Raditz-san--" 

"--taught you how. Yes, I know!" Vegeta snapped, brows lowering. 

Trunks glared back at his father. "Goku-san and Raditz-san kept up my training; _you_ taught me first." The inaudible "So there!" was plain in his eyes. 

Vegeta smirked. "Good. Protect your mother until I get back." With that, he surged into the air, rocketing toward the cesspit presence of Cacodemon, hair flashing golden as he flew. 

"Hey! Wait! You can't just--" Bulma protested--but he was already gone. 

*      *      *      *

Gohan's entire body was on fire with pain; it felt like his skin had been burned off and every bone broken and the broken ends twisted and pulled. He retreated back into unconsciousness. 

Someone shook him awake, stirring all the broken things. Gohan would have screamed, but he was too weak. Someone's finger was in his mouth, pushing something between his teeth. 

"Come on, Gohan, just bite down! It's a senzu bean," said Goku from far away. But Dad is dead--Cell killed him! Am I dying? No, wait-- Dad is back, because-- 

Gohan bit down on the senzu bean as memories of the last few months suddenly returned. He finally remembered the fight with Cacodemon, and the blast of white fire--and nothing more. Gohan opened his eyes; Dad was holding him, looking worried--worry that changed into a smile as Gohan sat up. 

"That's better. You had me worried; Cacodemon hit you very hard." Goku didn't look very good himself; his shirt had been burned away, and the rest of his gi was torn and tattered; dried blood ran down his face and across his chest. For all that, turquoise eyes and golden hair still burned with the fury of battle. 

Gohan looked down at himself; his Piccolo-style tunic was almost as tattered as his father's gi, and the white cape had been burned completely away. He flexed his hands and looked up at his father; his own hair flashed golden. 

"What do we do now?" What _could_ they do, against that monster? 

"We go back and keep fighting him," Goku said grimly. "He's still trying to find your little brother and Bulma and Trunks." 

"Dad.. What happened to Raditz? Is he.. Did Cacodemon..?" 

Goku frowned. "I don't know. His power dropped so low I could barely sense it.." Goku started, and looked north from the mountaintop they were resting on. His jaw dropped. "Vegeta!" 

"What??" Gohan jumped up and looked north--nothing. 

Goku frowned and shook his head. "I thought I felt Vegeta for just a moment--but he's not there. Just wishful thinking, I guess, or..." 

"Or what, Dad?" 

"Or we better slow that demon down--someone's about to get hurt!" 

*      *      *      *

Raditz also woke to pain, the pain of seared flesh and cracked ribs. The pain comforted him; it meant he was still alive. But where was he? From the feel of things, he was back to his normal form, no longer ouzaru. What had happened? 

He opened his eyes a crack. The green-needled branches of pine trees waved over his head in the early morning light. Up on a mountain, then; he could feel the rocks under his back. The big warrior carefully turned his head--and groaned, as the slight movement tormented a broken collarbone and cracked vertebrae. 

Not such a good idea. Don't move that arm. What else was broken? With the one good arm, he reached over and checked what he could reach for injury, then uncurled his tail and used it. 

Tears of pain were leaking from his eyes by the time he was done. Multiple cracked and bruised ribs, broken collarbone, injured neck, concussion, possible cracked hip, wrenched knee, broken tibia, possible cracked femur, unknown internal injuries, bruised tail... In short, he was out of the fight. 

Raditz was alone, but someone had left him here--placed something padded under his head, and laid a red velvet cloak over his injured body... 

He listened and sensed; he was alone, but he could feel another familiar ki some distance away--his brother still lived! Thus comforted, Raditz let himself sink back into unconsciousness. 

*      *      *      *

Mogris's arms burned with weariness as she lifted her shield yet again. Better than what they'd be burning with if she _didn't_ keep parrying Cacodemon, she thought grimly. I can't keep this up forever, and the bastard managed to disarm me. Time to think of something new. 

Cacodemon evidently agreed; the great demon stopped to stare at the infuriating woman. His great tail switched from one side to the other, in time with the pulsing gem on his forehead. Mogris looked back at the Chaos demon--and was caught. 

The great crimson eyes caught and ensnared her; it was hopeless. She could not win; her weapon, the priceless Lightning Spear was gone, devoured by Chaos. Even the mightiest warriors of this world had fallen before Cacodemon; what could one lone unarmed Orlanthi hope to accomplish? She could only hope for a quick death before the demon's power.. better that than to survive his victory. 

Cacodemon grinned. "DIE, BITCH OF ORLANTH!" Crimson eye beams slashed down-- 

Only to be deflected yet again by the Shield of Arran. Her arms felt like lead, and Mogris's heart was a hollow shell, but fifteen hundred years of experience drove her reflexes--beaten down by despair, weakened, exhausted, she was still a Hero of Orlanth--and the fifteen-hundred-year-old warrior guardian of the Gioll Bridge. A snarl of defiance crossed her face. 

" _Foul slime, curse of existance, begone!_ " began the ancient challenge of Orlanth. 

Cacodemon howled; he hated the old Storm gods more than anything else in the Time Before! He spat white fire at her once again; again the titanic blast was parried, and a remote island exploded with cataclysmic violence. 

" _Turn your back and Flee from Me,_ " 

Cacodemon leaped forward and snapped at her, gnashing his teeth; she dodged him, flitting aside and up with ease. The Shield flipped up to parry his tail stinger, and tilted forward to deflect the barrage of eyebeams. 

" _I will kill you, you are evil,_ " 

The great Chaos demon squinted up at her as she rose above him. "BLOCK THIS, THEN--AND LET EARTH BE DESTROYED TO SHIELD YOU!" Cacodemon spat an immense gout of white fire--a blast of power as great as the one he'd vomited at Gohan, a column of starkly incomprehensible power that would shatter the planet it touched. 

It seethed upward toward Mogris, a power that would consume her like a dead leaf in a volcano's heart; if she blocked it with the Shield of Arran, the Earth would take the blow--and be destroyed. She dodged; it arched over to follow her. Mogris flew up with all her speed; the beam followed, gaining rapidly. She looked down, grimly calculating; just as the beam reached her, she vanished. 

"TO HELL WITH YOU, WINDWHORE!" Cacodemon laughed triumphantly as his titanic beam plunged deep into space and exploded. He spread his wings and flew rapidly toward the river valley where the Son house nestled. 

Then Goku appeared and punched Cacodemon in the nose. 

*      *      *      *

Mogris looked down at the unconscious figure of Raditz. "Still breathing, I see--as am I. Next time, Mogris, don't cut it quite so close!" She admonished herself. "The damn demon's reflexes are faster than mine--next time, he might hit me _before_ I teleport away!" 

She knelt beside the wounded Saiyajin and gently examined his wounds. "Vegeta said you were one of his people; he wanted you alive. Huh. I never would have guessed a guy like you to be a moon-cursed giant were-ape!" She gently prodded the broken collarbone; Raditz groaned but did not regain consciousness. 

"White Lady, grant me your power to heal!" So saying, Mogris laid her right hand lightly on Raditz's chest; a white glow spread from her hand to envelope Raditz's body, and then slowly faded, sinking into Raditz's body. Raditz's breathing immediately changed, becoming less pained; his eyelids flickered-- and Mogris disappeared. 

Raditz opened his eyes; was there someone there? He looked around, cautiously, remembering his injuries--no one. He was alone. Then he realized that he felt no pain, save for the rough stones digging into the backs of his thighs. He cautiously reached over and checked himself, poking and prodding more vigorously as nothing hurt. 

"What the hell?? I've been.. healed somehow." Raditz sat up, and looked himself over. Under the red cloak, he was wearing his white body armor--and _nothing_ else. The dark bodysuit had not survived his transformation. "I guess Bulma still needs to work on that version of the material," he muttered to himself. "Damn, this is going to chafe." 

The impromptu pillow under his head turned out to be someone's padded red velvet vest; Raditz took his armor off and put the vest on. He picked up the red velvet cloak and admired it briefly before tearing it in half and setting to work. 

There. Raditz pulled the white armor shell back on. At least I won't violate Bulma's "public decency laws"--and it won't chafe, either. He tossed the shortened red cloak over his shoulder. I must look like something out of one of Gohan's history books, he thought as he looked down at the impromptu red velvet kilt and padded vest covered by the white armor. 

"Now what?" he asked as the sky lit up like fire, and the earth shook under not-so-distant explosions. 

*      *      *      *

Cacodemon bellowed angrily and spat another tremendous beam of power, this time at Goku. Let the Saiyajin block it if he could; if not, the planet would be destroyed. Cacodemon liked the possibilities in this trick--and Goku had given him so much energy to play with. 

The great crimson eyes widened as Goku responded with his own beam, the Kamehameha wave, balancing and blocking the terrible blast. The two beams splashed off of each other until Cacodemon, greedy for power, let his own beam collapse and Goku's Kamehameha slam down upon him--only to have it vanish as Goku turned it aside and sent the energy off into space. 

Goku smirked at the great Chaos demon. "I told you you can't beat me that easily." 

" _Lie and whimper before me!_ " Mogris's voice answered from behind the Chaos demon. Orlanth's challenge had been made. 

Cacodemon screamed with rage. An Orlanthi--of course she could teleport! Cursed Motion Rune.. "FOOLISH CREATURE! NOW I MUST END YOUR DELUSION OF YOUR DEAD GOD AND YOUR EXISTANCE!" 

"You're a damned Chaos GOD, Cacodemon--and you haven't managed to kill one lone warrior woman YET!" Mogris taunted. "Crap, I've been kicked around by BROO who fought better than YOU!" 

Cacodemon grinned, and half-spread his wings. "WHEN I CAME FORWARD IN TIME, I BROUGHT WITH ME THE POWERS OF THED, GODDESS OF THE BROO AS WELL AS MY OWN! DOOMCRACK!" 

Something invisible lashed out and smashed into the Shield of Arran; Mogris tried to parry it--and realized too late that the attack was directed at the _shield_ , not herself. With a horrid KRACK!, the Shield of Arran split in two pieces, and fell from her arm; the former guardian of the Gioll Bridge stood defenseless. 

"Oh, crap." She vanished; the deadly eyebeams ripped through the air she'd occupied an instant before. 

Cacodemon spun around, looking for her; he knew the Orlanthi could only teleport to a place she could see. His great head turned this way and that; where was she? Did she know Invisibility? It was too bright for the Sandals of Darkness to hide her.. 

Something slashed at the corded tendons of his neck, and Goku punched him in the nose again. No matter; his bruised nose healed in seconds, and whatever was attacking his neck was not strong enough to cut through his hide faster than it healed. 

The great demon coughed a fireball at Goku, and swung his head rapidly from one side to the other, trying to see whatever was hacking at his neck. Whatever it was, it was clinging to the back of his head; he couldn't reach it! 

Goku skidded to a halt two miles away; he finally managed to deflect Cacodemon's fireball into the air where it exploded. He stared at the trench his heels and the fireball had dug through meadow and woods for those two miles, panting with exertion. 

About that time, Cacodemon flung himself on his back; if he couldn't reach the insect on his neck, he'd crush it to a pulp! The Chaos demon arched his back and slammed his head into the mountain, shaking the earth for miles around. He rose, shaking his huge dog-like head, snarling. 

"Dad, what is he doing?" Gohan asked as Cacodemon finished rolling around on the rocks like a giant dog. 

"Trying to knock loose a pest," Goku said. "That strange woman who challenged him was on his back." He squinted, looking high above. "I don't see her, but she got away--I think she can teleport. I wonder where she learned that technique?" 

Goku's eyes suddenly widened; he looked north abruptly. "It _is_ Vegeta!" 

Gohan jumped up and looked north. "Huh? I still can't feel him!" Almost as he said the words, he could see the golden blaze of another Super-Saiyajin's aura. It was Vegeta. 

Vegeta swerved from his course toward them, alighting in front of them, a look of barely-contained fury on his face. "KAKAROTT! How did that monster get so powerful??" 

"Vegeta!" Goku stared at the short, powerful figure of the Saiyan prince. A fierce grin crossed his face. "Welcome back! Hey, you've got your tail!" Vegeta frowned, and curled his tail up tighter. 

The grin disappeared as Goku looked slightly sheepish. "I'm sorry, it's my fault he's so powerful. He absorbs power used against him, and he managed to steal almost all my power and a lot of Gohan's." Goku's face brightened. "But you've come back--that means you know how to kill him, right?" 

Vegeta's lips turned up in a cruel smirk. "So the great Kakarott has been waiting for me to rescue him?" The smirk turned into an evil grin; Vegeta's eyes danced with barely suppressed laughter. "You screwed up, Kakarott, and you need me to save the day!" 

Goku blinked, then grinned. "Yep." 

Vegeta threw back his head and laughed, loud and long before answering Goku's question. "It won't be that easy, Kakarott. He's too powerful." The words fell like a death-knell on Gohan's ears--but then Vegeta smirked. "You'll just have to get him to expend all that energy he stole, first. That should be easy for you, Kakarott--just let him beat on you and don't fire back!" Vegeta laughed wickedly. 

"The stupid demon has no concept of saving his power! That might change when he weakens, but until then, just keep him busy--and don't let him destroy the planet!" Vegeta rose into the air, ki gathering in one hand. 

"Vegeta!" The Saiyan prince looked down at Goku's abrupt call. Goku held out two senzu beans; Vegeta swooped down to take them. "Gohan has one left, and I have two more--that's it. Oh, and watch out for Piccolo--he's.. changed." 

Vegeta tucked them into the wolf-fur pouch at his waist. "Watch carefully, Kakarott! I'm about to show you something you can never do!" He hurled the ball of ki high into the sky, where it exploded into familiar glowing ball of lunar light--and Vegeta transformed. 

The damaged armor he had worn in the Cell Games finally shattered; unlike his original Saiyan armor, or Raditz's new armor, Bulma's first attempt at re-creating Saiyan armor could not expand the several-hundredfold times necessary for an ouzaru. Soon a great Saiyan ape with an upswept crest crouched on the mountain and roared its challenge to the great Chaos demon--a challenge that was taken up and echoed by another great ape that rose from the nearby mountains, a maned ouzaru wearing white armor. 

Cacodemon's crimson eyes narrowed; what was this? The weaker, maned ouzaru was one of the cursed Saiyajin--Raditz--he could feel the pathetically weak Saiyajin's life force; but who was the other, monstrously strong ape? He could not sense its life force! Not one of the cursed, or he would know it. The other cursed Saiyajin, the boy was.. there! Near him, the hero Son Goku. Somewhere over these mountains he would find the rest of the cursed, the weaklings that he would delight in obliterating once these heroes were dead. 

Destroy the weak. Cacodemon turned his head towards the nearest ouzaru--the much weaker, maned one, and spat white fire. 

The great maned ape dodged the deadly blast with surprising speed--but not the crimson eye beams that darted after. The maned ape roared with fury as the beams lashed and stung it, and leaped high into the air, plunging toward the huge Chaos demon. 

The demon grinned, and spat another blast of white fire at the hurtling ape--it would not dodge so well in mid-air. 

_Something_ darted between the blast and the ouzaru, something that caught the blast and turned it aside to explode harmlessly in deep space. 

"Not so fast, demon!" snarled a tall dark figure, breathing heavily. Antlers sprouted from its head, dark, leather skin covered it from head to foot, and sharp bony spurs protruded from its major joints. 

"Piccolo? PICCOLO!" Gohan shouted as he hurtled into the fray. "You're yourself again!" 

"Not quite, but I can tell my friends from my enemies again--and ugly down there isn't one of my friends!" Chaos-Piccolo smirked. "I am not fond of Raditz, but the enemy of my enemy.." 

"DIEEE!" The great Chaos demon roared, and spat balls of seething flame high into the sky, dozens upon dozens of them, until the sky was full of them. Piccolo rocketed into the sky with all his speed, gaining the very edge of space; and two ouzaru slammed into Cacodemon. 

BOOM! BO-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOOM! All of them exploded at once, filling the sky with a sea of white fire; the concussion flattened trees for miles around, and burned the tops of the mountains bare. 

"YEARRGGHHHH!" Caught in the vast area blast, King Vibishana burned. The once-invisible chariot and the demon tigers disintegrated, carbonized and blown away by the blast front. Immortal Vibishana fell burning from the sky. 

*      *      *      *

The ground exploded under Cacodemon's feet, and the great demon fell into a newly blasted pit; the powerful crested ouzaru grabbed the deadly tail stinger and ripped it out. The other, thoroughly enraged maned ouzaru rained massive blows down on the great demon's head and jaws--but somehow avoided the vampiric gem. 

Cacodemon's head snapped to one side with the same incredible speed that had fooled Piccolo--and bit down on the maned ape's hand. The great ape bellowed in rage and pain as the Chaos demon shook his head from side to side like a huge dog. Torn flesh and cracked bone finally yielded and the maned ape howled as he staggered back, clutching his severed right wrist. Red blood gushed out, washing away the demon's vile spit. The maned ape finally spat fire at his severed wrist, burning away the chaotic slime and cauterizing the ragged wound. 

As he did so, the crested giant ape bit and tore at the demon's wings, ripping them out of the monster's back in a fountain of black blood--only to watch the flesh boil, twist and reshape itself into a new set of wings. With a snarl of rage, the crested ouzaru flung himself to one side as the newly regenerated stinger stabbed towards his back. 

Another blast from above collapsed the ground under Cacodemon again; Gohan grinned fiercely, his hands still extended as he hovered high above. "Come on, you big ugly monster! I'm the one you want!" 

Cacodemon snapped his newly healed wings together and leaped into the air--only to whip his head around and spit a cataclysmic blast of white fire at the wounded, maned ouzaru. The great ape's crimson eyes widened; another world-destroying blast--too powerful to survive, too destructive to dodge and let hit the Earth. Ouzaru Raditz made his decision, and braced himself to catch and deflect the blast--if he could survive so long. 

A streak of golden fire darted between the maned ape and the deadly blast--caught it, and flung it high into the atmosphere where it exploded with cataclysmic violence--the entire world turned white for long moments. 

The shock wave caught Gohan and Piccolo and flung them to the ground; only the two ouzaru were strong enough to stand. Only the two ouzaru--and Goku. Goku stood between Cacodemon and the maned ouzaru, panting heavily, hands still extended from catching the blast. He smirked again. 

The white-tailed, crested ouzaru snarled a long, drawn-out growling snarl, like an angry tiger; his eyes changed from glowing crimson to dull black. Blackness stained his right hand; he leaped high, grabbing the great demon by one leg and pulling him down with his immense weight. The lethal tail stinger came darting down--only to be grabbed by the black hand and torn away, again. Blackness entered the wound, and the great ape laughted triumphantly as his black eyes turned crimson once again, and his hand faded back to brown. "SEALED!" the crested ape thundered, and Cacodemon howled as he looked at his maimed tail--for it did not heal. 

*      *      *      *

"What the--??" wondered Piccolo as he picked himself up. "How did he stop the demon from regenerating?" 

"Prince Vegeta used the power of the Death rune.. a dangerous thing for the living to wield, if they be not sworn initiates of Death, nor owners of the Death rune," came the voice of Mogris from behind. 

Piccolo whirled; the auburn-haired woman regarded him suspiciously, an ornately engraved sword in one hand. "Who are you?" 

"I am Mogris, Hero of Orlanth, and chanced to travel with Prince Vegeta from the Underworld, for his enemy is my enemy. Who are you? You stink of Chaos, yet the sun-haired youth calls you friend, and Cacodemon enemy--how can this be??" 

"If by Chaos you mean this cursed transformation, it is nothing natural to me, but a curse from that demon!" Piccolo growled; already his head was throbbing as insane desires to kill and destroy for the fun of it fought his iron control. "It would be better for you leave this place!" 

Her eyes narrowed. "Ah! He has afflicted you with the 'gifts' of Chaos. Would ye be free of them?" Mogris came to a decision, and raised her arms to the sky. "Scarf of Mist, hide us from our enemy!" 

A fog sprang up and blanketed the seared meadow where Piccolo had come to rest. The chaos-twisted Namek nodded. "Make it soon, if you can." 

"Aye. I can do this but once, so hold still and do not move!" Mogris sang in a long-forgotten language, and a blue light filled her hands. Piccolo shivered as she laid those hands on his chest and head; the insane thoughts and desires thrashing around in his head abruptly stopped, and something like fear replaced them. Then the blue light flared, and a cool flood of power poured through Piccolo, washing through him and over him like a torrent of water, cleansing the foulness that stained his body and mind. 

*      *      *      *

Cacodemon lashed out with acid-slimed claws, raking and slashing the great crested ouzaru again and again. Though its blood ran in rivers down its furred sides, the great ape only laughed mockingly at the Chaos demon--and struck back, sending the demon sprawling. Ravening with fury, the great demon rose and spat white fire at the crested ouzaru--who casually batted the terrible beam out of his way. 

The Chaos demon's eyes narrowed to slits; his enemies were falling into a pattern. The demon grinned, started to take a step forward--and jumped back as Gohan blasted away the ground where he'd been about to step. Then Cacodemon breathed his own blast out, catching the surprised youth square on. Gohan barely had time to raise his arms in a block before the great beam struck and exploded. 

"GOHAN!" Goku yelled as Gohan's power vanished momentarily in the tremendous wash of power as the world turned white again. The fireball burned away a small patch of fog, revealing Piccolo and the Orlanthi warrior maid Mogris--far too close for safety. 

Cacodemon slewed his head up and around, crimson eyebeams lancing out to skewer and destroy the pulsing orb of lunar light. The great demon grinned as the two ouzaru howled with rage, and collapsed--reverting to their former shapes. Now he would finally destroy that cursed Saiyajin Raditz! 

Before they even finished transforming back, Goku smashed into Cacodemon's legs, toppling the great demon again. "NO! I won't let you kill my friends!" 

Cacodemon's tail lashed out, catching Goku hard in the ribs, sending the mighty Saiyajin flying. Goku quickly righted himself, only to see Cacodemon's jaws gaping wide. 

"YIIII!" He dodged the tremendous blast just in time. 

*      *      *      *

Vegeta was the first to stand, still trembling from the exhausting transformation. Raditz knelt nearby, holding his maimed arm and groaning. His eyes opened wide as he looked at Vegeta. 

"You've acquired a few new scars since I last saw you in the flesh," Raditz said sardonically, both eyebrows raised. 

Vegeta glanced at himself, and smiled wryly. None of his armor or clothing had survived the ouzaru transformation, except for the wolfskin belt and pouch. He looked back at Raditz, whose white armor and little else had survived transformation. "It's a good thing your hair is so long, Raditz." 

"What? Oh crud, not again!" Raditz looked down at himself. "And I'm the one who insisted on the armor shell going high enough in the back to clear my tail, too!" 

Another brilliant flash and concussion shook the nearby mountains; Goku and Gohan still fought Cacodemon. Vegeta pulled a senzu bean from the fur pouch and ate it, sighing as the strength flooded back into him. He flexed his hands--then ki flashed white around him, and Prince Vegeta was clothed again. Blood red armor over black bodysuit, red gloves and boots, and a blood red cape hung down from his shoulders. 

Raditz's jaw dropped. "How did you do that?" 

"Manifesting simple objects?" Vegeta sniffed. "The Namek can do it. Did you think he could do something the Prince of the Saiyajin could not?" 

"Well, I can't do it!" 

"Why not? You've seen it done." Vegeta extracted the second senzu and studied it. 

"When did I-- oh, yeah. I remember now--in the desert with Gohan. My prince, I was dead at the time! I wasn't exactly there to study new techniques!" ..I was condemned to experience the pain I'd caused Gohan. 

"That's no excuse!" Vegeta said haughtily. "Kakarott would have picked it up in a instant; you were oblivious as usual." He rolled the senzu bean between his fingers, still considering something. 

"My prince.. I'm not Kakarott." 

"No, you're not. You're pitifully weak, compared to your brother--why you bothered to join this fight, when you couldn't possibly survive or win, is beyond my understanding. What kind of fool throws himself in the way of certain death for the sake of weaklings who are only good for a few moments sport in the killing?" Vegeta tossed the bean into the air and caught it. 

Raditz stared blankly at Vegeta for a moment, then the gears of his mind finally engaged. "I don't know, since such a fool would hardly be able to give an intelligent opinion of himself." He smirked. "You tell me." 

Vegeta's ki flared, and Raditz suddenly found himself fully clothed, black bodysuit under the white armor. "A loyal fool, who serves his prince well." Vegeta flipped the bean to Raditz, who nimbly caught it and ate it. 

Prince Vegeta looked at his former companion of the long bitter years under Frieza. "Do not transform again, and do not engage the monster directly. Do as seems right otherwise." 

Raditz gasped as his maimed arm healed, his hand rebuilding itself. "You mean I'm still too weak for this, damn it!" Bitterness shaded his voice. 

"You are too valuable to waste," Vegeta replied, adjusting his gloves. "But weak enough that I can spare you from the main attack to deal with those matters neither I nor Kakarott nor the brat can be spared to do." 

Raditz regarded Vegeta speculatively. "My prince.. you know a way to kill that thing, don't you?" 

Vegeta smirked wickedly and did not answer at first. 

"You do know something!" Raditz accused as he recognized that smile. 

"And you are as oblivious as ever!" Vegeta looked up at the deadly dance between Cacodemon and Goku. 

Raditz looked sharply at Vegeta. "My prince.. Why is the demon ignoring us?" 

"Because I want him to--and King Vibishana still lives." Vegeta smirked again, and flipped his cape back. "It is time." 

*      *      *      *

Gohan shook, his breath coming in harsh gasps that pained his bruised ribs. Three times he'd blocked the demon's titanic beams, three times that he'd thought his desperate block would break, and that he'd be consumed by the tidal wave of power. Each time, he'd reached deeper into the Super-Saiyan, and still found no bottom. How much could he take? All of it? _Was_ there an upper limit to his power? 

The boy scowled fiercely; that was nonsense! Anyway, Cacodemon had no more power than what he'd stolen from Dad and himself--and Gohan had fought Dad many times in practice. He could stand up to Dad's power. 

Cacodemon's tail switched from side to side as he stared at Goku, the blazing gem on his forehead pulsing in time with it. Goku did not seem to be affected--he dodged and blocked yet again as Cacodemon spat a cloud of small fireballs at him, followed up with a barrage of eyebeams-- 

\--Suddenly the great demon swerved abruptly in mid-fight, and hurtled toward the ground. What was it? There were two people over there, one down on the ground-- 

"NOOO!" Gohan shouted--one of the demon's targets was Piccolo! With a sudden burst of speed, he put himself in front of the demon just as the demon vomited white fire. Nearly in the demon jaws he blocked, fending the deadly beam away--only to be flung backwards, slammed deep into the nearest mountain by the tremendous power of the beam. 

He's weakening, Gohan thought woozily. Last time he hit me this hard, he knocked me out! Now I'm just embedded in a mountain... 

"GOHAN!" Goku darted in and slammed his fist into the great demon's nose, again--only to be intercepted by a concentrated barrage of the crimson eye beams. All Goku could do was block the storm of needle beams that lashed him-- and miss the great clawed hand that smashed him into the ground. Cacodemon spat fire into the hole Goku's body smashed into the earth. 

"DIE, WHORE OF ORLANTH!" The great Chaos demon turned his head and spat fire at Piccolo and Mogris. 

"No--the spell isn't complete," Mogris protested. "So close--SHIELD!" She invoked her last defensive spell, knowing it would not be enough--but it might hold just long enough for her to complete Piccolo's healing. 

White fire struck and clawed at the translucent barrier surrounding Mogris--a barrier that began to deform, bending inward under the furious attack. At first, it collapsed slowly, but then the fall accelerated... 

"DONE!" Mogris cried, scrambling to her feet--and her shield collapsed. She stood, silhouetted in the white fury for an instant--then she, too, crumbled and vanished like a leaf in a blast furnace. Earth and sky turned white in the explosion. 

"CACODEMON!" Suddenly, Vegeta was there, looking down at the monstrous Chaos demon, cold hate in his turquoise eyes, hair blazing golden. 

The great demon looked up, crimson eyes narrowing as he recognized the suddenly unveiled ki of the small figure in black and red. "VEGETA! COME TO DIE AGAIN? THIS TIME YOU WILL NOT BE SAVED; I WILL FEAST ON YOU AND ALL WHO OPPOSE ME!" 

The Saiyan prince's eyes flicked to one side as he noted Goku and Gohan recovering from their latest setbacks--even Piccolo was joining them. Good. 

"I have a riddle for you, Cacodemon!" Vegeta grinned evilly. "Why do vampires have no god??" 

"WHAT??" The great demon bellowed. "VIVAMORT WAS SLAIN IN THE GOD-TIME!" Cacodemon's bat-ears laid back flat against his dog-like head, and the demon wrinkled its nose. "WHAT HAVE DEAD GODS TO DO WITH DEAD SAIYAJIN?" 

"I SLEW VIVAMORT, YOU FOOL, CACODEMON SPAWN OF WAKBOTH THE DEVIL!!" Vegeta howled as he cupped his hands together, and a cool green light began to flicker between them. "I destroyed him with the Death rune I stole from Zorak Zoran, the same power that robbed you of your tail, damned Child of DEAD Wakboth!" 

Cacodemon's malevolent crimson orbs opened wide. "YOU WERE THE CRESTED APE!" The great demon fell back a step. "YOU CANNOT SLAY ME WITH THE DEATH RUNE--I HOLD IT, TOO, AND CANNOT BE SLAIN BY IT. DEATH HAS NO POWER TO HOLD ME, FOOL!" Cacodemon snarled, ears still flat back; he backed up another step as the power in Vegeta's hands grew. 

Every vein on Vegeta's face stood out; the corded muscles in his neck stood forth as hard and sharp as steel cables. Sweat poured down his face, and he screamed as the power built to a seething crescendo. 

"Enjoy the gift of Boztakang Chaosfighter, monster! COUNTERCHAOS!!" 

A brilliant beam of spiral green energy shot out from between Vegeta's cupped hands to strike Cacodemon in the face, square on the blazing gem. 

KR-KA-BOOOOOMM!! The gem exploded--and the universe turned white for a long moment. When the fireball faded, Goku, Gohan, Raditz and Piccolo gasped in shock. Cacodemon had changed. 

The great demon was sprawled headlong, scrabbling weakly to rise. Black blood ran down his face from the gaping wound where the great gem had been. His eyes were dull red, no longer the blazing crimson orbs they had been. The Chaos demon's skin sloughed off in great ragged strips of fur and blubber as he staggered to his feet; the long slimy claws faded, cracked and fell away. 

"Kakarott! Don't stand there like an idiot, kill that thing! It won't stay weakened forever!" Vegeta was breathing hard; most of his power had gone into the Counterchaos. 

"Allow me, since I seem to have missed most of the party," said Kulilin's familiar voice. "KI-ENZAN!" 

The raging disk of energy slashed down--and across the huge Chaos demon's neck, neatly parting head and body in a spray of black blood. The great body shuddered and collapsed, thrashing spasmodically. 

"Hey, Kulilin!" Goku waved at his old friend. 

"Kakarott! I'm out of senzu, give me one quick!" Vegeta snapped as he watched the thrashing carcass intently. 

"Sure, but what's the hurry? Kulilin just killed it, and you took away its power of regeneration, right?" Goku asked as he reached from a senzu bean. 

"You heard the damned thing--it was telling the truth. As long as it holds the Death rune, its spirit will keep re-gathering power and coming back! Now give me that damn bean!" Vegeta nimbly caught the magic bean and ate it. "Better. Now to finish this." 

Vegeta's eyes turned dull black, a stain that crept into his hair, turning it from golden to glossy, glowing black as he plummeted down to the twitching carcass of Cacodemon. A corona of black fire sheathed his right hand, and he plunged it into the monstrous demon's skull, into its foul brain. 

Vegeta screamed; the severed head of Cacodemon opened its jaws and howled with him, a terrible cacophony that nearly deafened Goku and Gohan--and did deafen Piccolo. Raditz put his hands over his ears, wincing. 

Finally Vegeta wrenched his hand free, and staggered to his feet, the unnatural blackness fading from his eyes and hair. "It.. is finished. Destroy it." His hair faded from gold to its normal black, his eyes rolled back in his head, and Vegeta collapsed to lay as still as the dead monster beside him. 

*      *      *      *

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XXXIV. HEARTS ENTWINED


	35. XXXIV. Hearts Entwined

## XXXIV. HEARTS ENTWINED

Raditz gently lifted the unconscious Vegeta in his arms and rose into the air. "He's still alive--I think." The long-haired Saiyajin looked worried. "What did he do, exactly?" 

"I'm not sure," answered Goku; "but he destroyed the last of Cacodemon's power. It's really dead, now." 

"Dad?" Gohan looked from his dad to the fallen demon and back. 

Goku nodded. "Do what Vegeta asked." 

"KA.. ME.. HA.. ME-HA!" Gohan flung one last blast of ki, a brilliant fireball that blazed up and utterly consumed what was left of the demon. 

"Goku, do you have a senzu left?" Raditz asked. 

"Yes." Goku tossed a bean to Raditz. 

"Thanks. I don't know if he'll need this, yet, or even if it will help, but.." Raditz trailed off, still worried. "I'm taking him back to Bulma." He smiled wryly. "I hope Chi-chi doesn't mind yet another guest!" 

" _Another_ guest?" Kulilin wondered as Raditz sped off toward his house. 

*      *      *      *

Vegeta wandered in the fog for a while--then stopped abruptly as he realized he'd been here before. He was in the borderland between life and spirit, again! 

"NO! I can't be dead again! _I_ killed that damn demon--he did not kill me!" 

"Your body is not dead, but your spirit is severed from it, Prince Vegeta." Before Vegeta loomed the tall, dark, sapphire-eyed King of the Rakshasas. His red velvet cape stirred in an intangible breeze. 

"What? How did that happ--damn! The Death rune!" Vegeta scowled and clenched his fists. 

Yes; you used powers not meant for a mortal body in the physical world," pronounced King Vibishana. "When you tore the Death rune from Cacodemon's spirit, you took it to yourself, and it acted on you as Death acts on all men--but you hold it and control it, so you can not fully die unless you will it. Neither can you fully live, for a mortal body cannot embrace both Death and Life." 

Prince Vegeta looked within, and saw that everything the Rakshasa King said was true. If he held the Death rune, he could become something monstrous, neither dead nor alive--and nearly invincible, able to kill with a touch or a look. Not even Kakarott could withstand him, if his will were the stronger.. 

..and he would never embrace Bulma again, nor look with pride upon his young half-Saiyan son. Death has neither lovers nor children. 

Bah! He could already kill anyone whose power was the weaker; he did not need this.. atrocity. Kakarott would probably be immune to it, anyway. 

"How do I get rid of this thing?" Vegeta growled. 

"Yield it up to he who rightfully bears it in this Time," King Vibishana bowed respectfully to something large that loomed out of the mist. 

A large something that seemed to shift from one moment to the next, first a large man with a stern, strong face and compassionate eyes, and then a great white bull. Vegeta knew that what he saw was both symbolic and real--this was part of the spirit realm, and spirits take shapes representative of their true nature. Behind him was another, the white bull's master, remote and dimly seen; a serene and immense power that Vegeta did not want to see any closer, let alone disturb. 

"Nandi is the faithful servant of Lord Sh--" 

"Do not tell me!" Vegeta interrupted. "I know _what_ he serves; I do not care to know more!" The Saiyan Prince shuddered. "Take it; I give it to you freely!" 

The man who was a bull nodded and reached out to touch Vegeta's spirit, plucking something dark and deadly from its depths. "You, too, have served my lord well. Return in peace and be blessed." 

*      *      *      *

In the Underworld, four lost souls came before Lord Enma for judgement--and Negi was stuck with filling out the paperwork while Nappa departed on other errands. 

Errands, my low-class stubby tail! Negi thought darkly as he glared at the skinny blue clerk-demon assisting him. Nappa's just going to see his lady again, everyone knows that! Okay, let's see what I have to give this twit so he can fill his stupid forms out and get off my back... 

"Kaeru, consigned to Hell of.. Hey, you! What's this character? I don't know this Hell." Negi barked at the clerk-demon, who cringed. Saiyajin made him nervous; they were so bad-tempered and unpredictable! 

"Uh, that's the Hell of Violent Perversion," the blue demon answered timidly as he looked over the form. "You know, rapists and sex-murderers and people like that." 

"Violent Perversion? Who thinks up these categories?" Negi shook his head. "Gah. File him; he's Not My Problem Anymore. Next.. Kidoru, Hell of Petty Perversion, reincarnation when he gets his head out of his--" 

"*Ahem* That's not correct terminology, _sir_ , and I cannot put it on this form!" The clerk-demon protested primly. 

Negi glared at the gaudly dressed blue demon with his one good eye. Ripping the little twit's head off and using it for a football would probably not impress the higher-ups, and would just cause Negi further pain. 

"You. Know. What. I. Mean," Negi growled. 

"Ah, yes," the clerk-demon answered hastily. "I believe I can fill in the details. Next?" 

"Melchior..." Negi's eyebrows went up, and he stared silently for a long time. 

"Yes?" pressed the impatient clerk-demon. 

Negi blinked. "He _really_ didn't belong there!" the Saiyan warrior said to himself, and then glared at the clerk-demon again. "Melchior.. Heaven." Negi smirked. "Good. I liked the kid." 

"Yes, well, um, next?" The clerk-demon hated prodding the touchy Saiyajin, but his shift was almost over, except for this job... 

"Last.. Pomona. Reincarnation..." Negi jumped abruptly to his feet. "I have to double-check on this one." The little blue clerk-demon stared after him as the one-eyed Saiyajin left. 

*      *      *      *

Pomona shivered, alone with her anguish as she hovered between what had been and what would be. Soon her previous life would be erased, and another would begin; she wouldn't be Pomona anymore, but someone else, with no memory of being Pomona. 

Not that Pomona had been worth remembering.. before the Judge of the Dead, her entire life had been revealed to her in all its pettiness, emptiness, and selfishness. She'd always thought of herself as good and kind--only to discover that she'd never done things because they were right, but because she wanted to stay out of trouble, that she'd never been kind to anyone because she really cared about them, but because she wanted to be liked and looked up to. How had she not seen it before? 

She liked people who were nice to her, who did things for her--but she'd never really cared about them, never loved anyone. All her life had been a selfish pursuit of her own comfort and her own desires--how could she have been so blind, so petty, so.. childish! 

A sob escaped her; if only--! If only she'd done things differently, if things had been different, if she had been different.. Well, next time they would be different, but would she? Or would she spend another lifetime making the same foolish mistakes, and learn the same bitter truth at its end? 

A gentle touch on her shoulder, and Pomona looked up, startled. It was the demon warrior, Negi--but he didn't look very demonic just then. He looked at her so strangely with that one good eye--and then gently brushed one tear from her cheek. Only then did Pomona see the matching tear in his eye. 

"You regret..." was all he said, but the look on his face said far more; it spoke of regret as deep as Hell, and empathy for the pain of a wasted life. 

Pomona remembered, suddenly, on the long climb up from Hell, how this _demon_ had caught her and held her several times when she'd fallen, and gently helped her get back on her feet--to Melchior he'd been merely aloof--but the other two! Those two had been grabbed roughly by the handiest extremity and brutally thrown back on the stairs, scraped and bleeding, every time they'd so much as tripped. From the evil smirk on the face of the big bald demon, what they got was only to be expected. 

She had wasted her life on petty selfishness--and now found sympathy from a demon in Hell! Pomona finally collapsed against Negi, weeping bitter tears of regret for things done that could not be undone, for things left undone that she would never have a chance to do, for a lifetime of chances missed. Much to her surprise, Negi put his arms around her and held her--though there was no warmth, no physical attraction between the two dead souls, still she found comfort there. 

"Yes.. I regret," she said at last. She looked at the dead Saiyajin--Pomona could no longer think of him as a demon--and said bitterly, "And I can't say, 'don't worry, I'll be fine'--I won't be fine! I never was." She balled up her many-ringed fingers into fists. "Why does it have to be this way?? It's not fair!" 

Negi stirred at that. "Not true." 

"Huh?" Pomona took a step back and stared at him; no one had ever told her that when she was crying on their shoulder before! Friends had always agreed with her, held her, told her how badly the world had treated her... 

The one-eyed warrior struggled to find the right words. He gestured as he spoke, as if he had to seize the words physically before he used them. "You.. I.. We made choices, made our own lives. No one else did." He paused for a moment. "'Fair' is not the same as 'you like it'." 

Pomona looked at the damned warrior with new eyes; in Hell, this violent murderer had shown her kindness.. and in this Limbo between lives, he had given her truth. The pink-haired girl looked down at her feet, avoiding Negi's gaze. "You.. are right." She looked at him again. "You won't be fine, either." 

"No. I.. made bad choices." Negi looked at her, considering. She will be incarnated a human, on Earth. Perhaps.. it was finally time to let go of the Saiyajin, to move on.. being human wouldn't be so bad. "Soon, a new choice. Maybe better." 

She smiled weakly. "Yeah, there is that hope. Maybe better." 

*      *      *      *

Beyond Limbo, between Heaven and Hell runs Snake Way, and on Snake Way stands the fabled Palace of the Jade Goddess called Princess Snake. The Snake Goddess turned from the enchanted mirror to her daughter, Kadru the Naga Princess. 

"I told you it would be a simple matter to get dear Emmie to agree! Your guardian lives, and we shall see you married to Prince Khara before the year is out." Princess Snake pouted a bit, and then smiled. "I could almost dislike King Vibishana for twisting my arm like that--but he was quite correct. It _is_ unthinkable that a mere condemned spirit should be the guardian of _my_ daughter, and it would be an insult to send such to treat with the King of the Rakshasas regarding his son's marriage. However, the _living_ Prince of the Saiyajin is--" 

"..more than appropriate--Yes, mama, I know. You told me." Kadru sighed; why did things have to move so slowly again? Things had started _happening_ when she'd gone off on her own with Prince Vegeta, but now that mother was involved.. Kadru sighed again. Of course, everything had to be done _properly_ , but couldn't things speed up a bit? 

Something had changed during her long journey with the Saiyan Prince, and it hadn't been the rest of the universe--no, the change was inside her. Kadru no longer felt driven by the desperate need to please her father, or to find a husband to please and be needed by and taken care of by. She could take of herself, she'd proven that--all the gods knew the ill-tempered, obnoxious Prince Vegeta certainly hadn't taken care of her! (Well, not much; he _had_ saved her from freezing in Niflheim). She could also help someone who needed help, without waiting around to 'be needed' by him--thanks to Prince Vegeta for showing her that, too! 

She still desperately wanted-- _needed_ \--to be loved, but that could not be forced. It would just have to come in its own time.. and at least mother loved her. Kadru lowered her long black lashes with a sigh. Until mother had taken her in and show Kadru her own love, Kadru had never realized how little her father cared about her--the unlove of indifference ran far deeper than hate. 

Now what about Prince Khara? Kadru still hadn't met him--he'd left Lankha on some quest just before the Ferryman had brought her there. Beautiful Lankha had indeed lived up to its reputation, and had been very nice to visit, and she thought she would enjoy living there someday soon--but she'd come to see Khara and he wasn't there, so back home she went. Kadru sighed again, and settled her coils comfortably. Oh well, patience.. After putting up with her father for centuries, she could endure for a few short years. 

Kadru started up with a sudden thought. Which one of her ladies-in-waiting would mother send to set the terms of her marriage? If it was Scylla, they were close enough in height and build in their human forms... Maybe there was a way to get a peek at Prince Khara before things were settled. Maybe. At least she would make very sure he was not indifferent to her! 

*      *      *      *

"Don't worry, your parents are alive," Raditz hastened to assure Bulma as she gaped in horror at the destruction all around the compound. 

By some miracle, their house and Dr. Brief's lab had escaped Cacodemon's wrath. Everything else was gone, blasted and obliterated by the brief fight there. Half the city burned; the other half was an empty blast crater. What the earthquake had missed, the demon had finished. 

"Jesus!" Nezumi paled as she looked across the destruction. Prince Khara carried her, while Sinhika carried Sean; Raditz had his hands full with Bulma and the unconscious Vegeta. Trunks proudly flew on his own. 

"BULMA!" Mrs. Briefs ran out and flung her arms around her daughter as they alighted on what was left of the lawn. Dr. Briefs followed close behind, looking relieved. Bulma's mother then flung her arms around Raditz and gave him a big hug--"Raditz! You saved my baby! And Vegeta's back, too!" 

After a short time, a few more capsule houses were decanted, and everyone had a place to stay. Raditz would not leave Vegeta's side, at first, so Bulma gave him a room in her new house--then Nezumi didn't seem to want to leave, so she added on a room for her, too. 

"You two don't need to hover right over me, you know! The demon's dead, his followers are dead, no one is going to try and kidnap me, okay?" Bulma was working on her old dragon radar, cleaning it and fine tuning it--it would be needed soon. The exhausted Trunks was finally in bed to stay. Vegeta, still unconscious, was also in bed; Bulma figured the best thing for him was rest. 

"I didn't expect anyone to kidnap you the first time," Raditz growled, pacing back and forth. 

"Ma'am, I'm what's left of the Capsule Corp Security Department, it's my job to worry about these things," Nezumi said. 

Bulma pushed the big knob on the dragon radar; it lit up and began to beep, showing seven white dots scattered around the world. "Yes! Perfect!" She turned it off again. "Fine! You two want to worry, hover around the living room all you like; I'm going to bed!" 

"Before you go to bed, can I help myself to this?" Nezumi held up a jar of corn she'd found in the pantry. 

"Oh, that," Bulma answered after yawning and stretching. "I don't know why my father stocks that in the Capsule Houses--that kind is no good for cooking, unless you grind your own cornmeal. You can have it if you want." Another yawn, and Bulma headed down the hall to her own bedroom. 

Nezumi smirked--smirked!--knowingly and said, "I think I know a use for it!" and disappeared into the kitchen. Shortly afterward came an odd "pop-pop-pop" sound, and a delicious smell of roasted grain and hot, salty oil wafted through the small house. 

Raditz lifted his head up, sniffed once, and bolted into the kitchen, stomach growling-- 

Nezumi emptied a big pot of.. _something_ into an equally big bowl. "Here, try this if you're still hungry!" 

The delicious, tantalizing smell emanated from the bowl of puffy white stuff. Raditz picked up the bowl and stared at it. It looked like something used to stuff boxes with. "What is this, edible packing material?" 

Nezumi looked at the big Saiyajin, and smiled mischieviously. "It's popcorn, silly. Try it." 

The long-haired warrior scooped up a tentative handful and stuffed it in his mouth. Raditz's eyes opened wide, and he reached for the rest of the bowl. "Hey, this is good!" 

"Yep." Nezumi grinned, and poured some more corn in the pot before she put it back on the stove. Raditz watched her as she did so, admiring her compact curves. His tail switched from side to side. Does she have any idea what it means for her to privately offer food to an unattached warrior like me? No, of course not, she's not Saiyajin, she wouldn't know... 

Then Raditz caught a glimpse of the smile on her face as Nezumi briefly turned her face away from the stove. His tail froze in an arc; she knows! I don't know how, but she knows! 

Mom was right, Nezumi thought to herself after catching a glimpse of Raditz's face; the way to a man's heart _is_ through his stomach! 

"Raditz," she asked not-so-innocently, "if you're still hungry, there's some steak in the fridge; how do you like it cooked?" 

"Quickly," the big Saiyan warrior replied, smirking. 

*      *      *      *

Consciousness slowly returned. For a time, Vegeta lay quietly, listening to a wondrous sound--his own heart, beating. He hadn't heard that in a long, long time. After a while, the Saiyan prince realized that there was something--no, _someone!_ \-- warm and naked and very feminine curled up against his bare back. He opened his eyes. 

Morning light filtered through the shaded window of the bedroom--of their bedroom. He was home, in his own bed, and beside him... Vegeta slowly turned over, careful not to disturb the person next to him. _She_ slept, blue hair spilling across the pillow, one arm still draped over his waist. 

Vegeta smiled, and very gently lifted the hair away from her neck. He kissed her lightly but persistantly, starting on her throat at the base of her jaw and working his way down. She began to stir by the time Vegeta reached her collarbone. 

"Mmmmmm! That's nice..." Bulma murmured, still mostly asleep. 

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" Vegeta whispered in her ear. 

Bulma's eyes flew open. "Vegeta! You're--" 

"Alive and back on Earth--or else we're both in Heaven, and I don't think I've been quite _that_ good," her prince said, as he caressed her. 

"YES!" Bulma shouted in pure joy. 

*      *      *      *

CONCLUDED IN THE EPILOGUE


	36. Epilogue

## EPILOGUE

"YOUR WISH.. IS GRANTED! FAREWELL!" 

There was a brilliant flash, and the dragonballs scattered to the ends of the Earth. 

*      *      *      *

Sean dabbed another streak of ochre on the new painting and studied it critically. "Yeah, that's about right. A little more shading on the hair.." He was in a good mood--he was back in his old apartment, his old friends were back, and the only downside was that the cockroaches were back, too. 

"Your talent is impressive," Sinhika noted, closing the door behind her. 

The black-haired artist straightened abruptly. "You're back! I didn't expect you so soon," he said as he embraced his demon lover... 

*      *      *      *

In a place of cool white power, Bardock knew himself again, and found that he was not alone; _she_ was with him. 

*Kinoko? KINOKO!* 

*Welcome, my love. I have missed you.* 

*It has been.. long. I thought it would be forever. How can this be?* 

*You do not belong there any more.* 

*I understand, now.. If I had only understood from the beginning.. So much pain.. Yet if I had not been there.. I had to be there for the two young ones!* 

*Have I not said our path is a hard one? Yet there is good at the end.* 

*Yes.. it is _very_ good.* 

*      *      *      *

## The End

**Author's Note:**

> _**Disclaimer:** See [Credits](http://www.republicofnewhome.org/oldlair/writing/credits.html)._   
>  _Copyright 2000 by Dragoness Eclectic_


End file.
